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Previously on Top Chef: Beverly gets sent home and Charlize Theron was awesome and beautiful.
We return to Top Chef:Texas with the chefs in the stew room going over Beverly‘s departure. Grayson talking-heads that she’ll miss her while the other chefs are either hiding their feelings or just don’t seem to care.
All of a sudden an angel walks in, a.k.a. Charlize Theron, and she thanks the chefs and calls herself a “huge nerd.” No, Charlize, people currently on their 98th consecutive hour of playing Skyrim while on a Mountain Dew drip are huge nerds. You are a pretty actress.
With the stew room properly blessed, we move on to the rest of the episode and the quick fire challenge, this time being judged by Padma, Emeril Lagasse and Cat Cora, who also has a new Bravo show coming up soon, Around The World In 80 Plates (Bravo doing cross-promotion, SHOCKING!!)
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The chefs are broken up into three teams: Grayson and Chris; Ed and Paul; and Lindsay and Sarah. In the absolute worst dubbing job of all time, Padma tells us that the chefs must complete three skill challenges (de-shining and deboning shrimp, making fresh pasta, and shaving corn) before making a dish using all of those ingredients in 30 minutes!
Everyone gets to work. Grayson talks and talks, which Lindsay bad mouths in her interview because Lindsay hates joy. Everyone more or less completes the challenge, except that Paul forgets to saute the shrimps for their dish, so they don’t get the chance to win.
In the end, even Grayson messing up her pasta can’t stop Chris and her from winning the challenge, which also means they get $10,000 dollars. Cue the cute family photos of Chris, his wife and their baby! He even gets a shout-out at the sponsor and thanks Healthy Choice! Good job, Bravo minion!
Poorly dubbed Padma now announces the twist to the episode — their partner is now their opponent for the elimination challenge, which is to make a dish for 200 people attending a fund raiser for the San Antonio Food Bank. The teams decide their dishes, which they announce to Padma, who declares all of the choices to be too heavy and announces the second twist: they must now make their chosen dishes healthy, because HEALTHY CHOICE is the sponsor.
The chefs groan because fat is what chefs run on. I groan, too. We run off to Whole Foods, where we get to watch the chefs be demanding and request all the ground turkey and agave syrup! Because those are HEALTHY CHOICES. Except Whole Foods doesn’t even sell that brand. Oops. The Whole Foods dude who makes fun of Lindsay behind her back after she asks the employee to accompany her through the store with a cart full of watermelons is my hero.
When the time comes to cook the healthy food, we learn that none of the cheftestants know what a block party is. This is strange because block parties are pretty common. Are these Amish chefs? Who are these cheftestants who grew up without block parties? In any case, Chris mentions that the the go-to in healthy food is seasoning, which why we see Chris dumping an entire container of cayenne seasoning into his chicken. That’ll do it!
We get to the party and all the nice-looking attendees arrive , all bearing canned foods for the food bank. Grayson doesn’t budget enough time to make her sandwiches in advance, so she must make her sandwiches to order. Ed puts out his steam buns to make his short-rib sandwiches open faced and doesn’t realize folks are mad greedy and he actually yells at a kid not to take too many pieces of bread.
The judges arrive, and look Ryan Scott from Top Chef Season 4 is here! He and Padma exchange some scripted words about the charity the meal is supporting and they move on. Dana Cowin from Food and Wine magazine is here, which scares Paul.
The judges try Paul and Ed’s Korean food first. Padma calls Ed’s short rib sandwich “hard and dry” and I could make a Salman Rushdie joke here, but I won’t! Because I’m classy. They stop at Grayson and Chris’s table and appear to like Chris‘s food a bit more. Final stop: Lindsay and Sarah. Lindsay is the clear winner, especially since Dana’s side salad was a mess.
Finally, we arrive at judge’s table. Grayson, Paul and Lindsay are the winners, chosen by the diners at the block party! Yay, all of Paul’s pacing was for a good cause! Before we get to the overall winner, Tom Colicchio questions Grayson’s choice of chicken salad for a block party. In hot weather. We’re all questioning her choice, too. Grayson sasses Tom back and says she wanted to make elevated chicken salad and that a meatball was the boring decision. Tom disagrees.
It doesn’t matter, because Paul wins with his turkey lettuce cup! He wins $15,000 from Healthy Choice. I hope no one tells him about the clause that he can only spend that money on Healthy Choice frozen meals (that’s a joke and I made it up. He can spend it on anything he wants, like Healthy Choice canned green vegetables.)
The winners go back to the stew room and call in the losers: Ed, Sarah and Chris. As the losers walk over to Judges Table, Grayson has a fit over her chicken salad comments, realizing the error in talking back to Tom.
Tom delivers the first blow and tells Ed he took all the good out of short ribs (the fat!) instead of genuinely trying to make a healthy dish like Paul did with the turkey. Chris gets yelled at for not making the sandwiches to order, but gets points for not ratting out Grayson and letting the judges know that only happened because she failed to manage her time properly, which a lesser cheftestant would have done.
The chefs get sent away and Tom nails it in his assessment of Chris: lots of great ideas, but can not execute anything properly. It wasn’t surprising at all to see that Chris gets sent home. Grayson blames herself for making the chicken salad choice that got Chris sent home, and she’s probably mostly right.
Next week: Pee-wee Herman is our celebrity judge and the producers find more ways to torture the chefs in the heat by making them ride bikes!
TELL US: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CHRIS’S ELIMINATION? DO YOU THINK IT’S GRAYSON’S FAULT FOR PICKING CHICKEN SALAD? DO YOU THINK SHE WAS RIGHT TO TALK BACK TO TOM?
What is up with dubbed in Padma this season??? It’s SO terrible!! Is Bravo trying to save money on decent sound and editing systems? Weird. It’s so distracting.
Sorry, LOVED this show when it started, but IMO, it’s gotten Old, predictable and Boring, same old same old, same Style, same Muzak, same Hosts “pretending to be interested in what they’re doing[Read PAYCHECKS...lol]“…Haven’t watched it in two Seasons, would Love if they revamped and got some new Hosts…..Contestants and their enthusiasm for FOOD was the best part and Now it appears all they’re on there for is Money….given by Corporate Sponsers…..blecchhh…lol… REAL Chefs HATE this show and it’s Pseudo-ness………
Tom seems to have it in for Grayson for some reason.
I hope to God Sara goes, as she is the sorest loser. Her face is always contorted when anyone else wins. The others at least attempt to be nice, whereas she is constantly bragging about herself and acting as if everything she turns out is a culinary masterpiece.
I am not fond of Lindsay, but her meal did look good and she deserved her win.
Sometimes as in Chris’ case, totally healthy equals bland. That tofu emulsion= blech!
@Meinnyc- IMO, it is the only good show left on Bravo, and personally, I like the fact that the formula is still the same. It is the one show Bravo hasn’t screwed up yet with adding their crap to it.
I have a hard time watching the Top Chef spin-offs because of the different hosts.
I just like the show. I have not missed a season, but if Bravo messes with it, it will go by the way of the Housewives for me, meaning I will no longer watch.
It was Grayson, not Lindsay, that requested the guy follow her with a cart full of watermelons, right?
@xyxyz:
LOL…How are YOU, U???…LOL…I Do see Ur points, ‘cept when the Chef’s get hepped-up to win $10,000.00 from Hefty Containers, by making a quick dish, or whatever, and say how much they need the Money, for this or that, imho, it just takes alot away from why they’re supposed to be there in the first place….PLUS, know ALL about Padma & Tom and their Lives and Machinations behind the scenes, and it ain’t all pretty….that’s all………Tom actually wasn’t even gonna be back unless he got Alot more Money……
Hope Ur well, U…lol…The Bravomeister’s problem is they don’t know when to quit when they’re ahead, and alot of these Shows run their Course, and instead of doing something about it, they keep plodding on, because they make Mucho Dinero……….I’d like something Fresher, that’s all………Best, U!……..lol…
I feel that the recap is half assed. Sorry but can you at least describe ALL the dishes I mean this is a recap of Top Chef.
I’m doin’ ok. Trying to keep dry, so much rain in my neck’o’ the woods! How are you?
I totally agree about the sponsorships, and the money aspect, and I also see your point about it taking away from the real reason to be there.
Initially, I didn’t think the show was casting professional chefs, but people who worked in a lower end of the industry, waiting for their big break. Now they get contestants from restaurants that have prestige, which I think is contrary to the early years and again to the purpose of the show, yet it remains pretty close to the same show, more than others.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually dislike Padma and Tom. I find Padma to be a condescending witch most of the time, and Tom to be an arrogant a-hole, BUT like with the Housewives from the beginning, I am used to them, and watch to enjoy BUT also to bitch, if that makes sense.
I find when shows start messing with the original casts, that is when I lose interest. Example being the Housewives franchise. I actually like Gail, but she is on less and less, which sucks because she was the kindest to the chefs AND seemed to make sense with her critiques. Half the time, I have no idea WTF Padma OR Tom mean when they give these esoterical rants to the contestants.
You are also right, Bravo fails to know when to say when, and also when to say NO! Pregnant in Heels? SERIOUSLY? I liked Top Design(?), the interior design contest show. It was bad, BUT fun to watch.
Oooops I forgot to put @Meinnyc in my previous post.
*red face*
The didn’t shop at Whole Foods. It was Central Market, a division of HEB-a San Antonio based grocery chain. They do in fact sell Healthy Choice.
Loved seeing them shop at Central Market, just moved to Dallas and it’s my favorite store.
@xyxyz:
LOL…Gail Simmons and Tom have WAY more experience than Padma…[and don't EVEN get me started about her, por favor, was aquaintances with her ex, Teddy Forstmann,[ex of Princess Diana, years ago] before he died, and would see them @ Events/heard stories that would Curl Ur Hair[rain or no rain...lol]….Teddy was a Out going, Charming, Decent, NICE Billionaire Philanthropist and a Power Magnet on Wall Street……….some, were hanger’s On….if U catch my drift, and haven’t changed……lol…in their Professional Or Personal Lives…….[I guess U did get me started...........LOL]……..Cheers!……….lol…
Whoa BravoAddict – you’re being a little picky if you really need a chicken salad sandwhich and meatball described to you in full. Just Saying…
Why was Padma without pants the whole episode? Even Andy Cohen had to wag his finger at that.
Padma is a joke this season. I’m a dude, and I can even look at her outfits and laugh at her. Emeril is a waste of space.
Hey, Meinnyc, wasn’t she (Padma) engaged to him and then he died? Or did they breal up before he passed away?
People also forget WHAT a bitch she was and still is to Baby Dell’s daddy. He may not be a prize (don’t know anything about him really) but she has been such a witch with custody, etc.
Also Tom is very successful BUT he thinks he is a better chef than say Eric Ripert oR Hubert Keller, which he isn’t.
LOL@Lindsey_Lou, yeah, not terribly much you can say about either of those without being redundant.
@Fighting Wombat- I KNOW! I was commenting on that after last week’s episode! Enough with the “theme” dressing!
@Bravo Addict- If you need more information on the menus from last night, hit up the Top Chef site. It will go into all the explanation you need.
The kid that Ed told not to take any bread..wasn’t that the same kid that came back and said he voted for him at the end?
I thought Watch What Happens Live was hilarious last night. Andy calling Padma’s outfits out was funny.
I still like the show too and if real chefs hate it so much how come so many famous chefs are willing to support it and not only that go on Top Chef Masters.
I know there is the element of branding and getting restaurant/cookbook exposure to a massive audience, but nearly all the contestants – even on Masters – seem to have a great time. And I really enjoy the formula of the show.
That being said why is chicken salad such a controversial choice for a block party. Yeah, it’s sort of standard and yeah, it’s a no brainer. But i’ve eaten it at a ton of picnics.
Padma always sounds like she’s chewing on marbles to me. I’m not surprised they have to dub her. And what was with that awful first outfit she had on? I think Chris should have gone before Beverly.
@13 half the fun is hearing what they put into the meal. One chef made mac and cheese with black truffle on the bottom but here they would probably say mac and cheese. It’s giving off the wrong perspective plus on the show they actually write out the whole dish. One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Top Chef is it can give you ideas on cooking meals at home.
#15@xyxyz:
LOL…they broke up beforehand….She’s basically, in Hollywood parlance, a Starfucker…lol…beautiful, yes, and smart, but, only dates Billionaires, as was Teddy, and her babydaddy, Dell…..and as to why Top Chefs’ go on the Show????@Mary……..Publicity for their Businesses and MONEY….
I’d like to see a Revamp and have it get back to what it was, which was Talent, Originality and FOOD………lol…
I love Top Chef….Ed, the asian guy has got some serious anger issues……but Paul, Paul is gonna win hands down!! Team Paul all the way!!
what is with the unfortunate DENIM dress Padma is wearing for the promo pics..? Holy 1984
I still like the show but Beverly leaving before Chris was a joke. They do some stupid things sometimes. Like the double elimination a while back the one chick didn’t deserve to leave (and I think was winning the last chance kitchen up until Bev?). But I still watch because I like to watch what they make