Last night’s Top Chef was devoted to the deep south. Don’t worry, the Real Housewives of Atlanta did not make an appearance, but the Quickfire was administered by none other than the artery-clogging maven herself, Miss Paula Deen. The challenge was, naturally, to deep fry somethin’ yummy, which Paula said was close to her heart (her slowly beating, butter-filled heart). Antonia mistakenly only presented one plate (instead of two) to the judges, and was therefore disqualified from the win, even though Paula made it very clear that she should have won. Also on the top was Mike, who made a fried chicken oyster (the part of the chicken between the thigh and the body), which was a dish he stole from Richard, who in the scene before showed his plan to make a chicken oyster and serve it in an oyster shell, a transgression Carla called a violation of “Chef Law.” But Blais wasn’t too morose, since he also landed in the top with his fried mayonnaise. Yes. I will say no more about that.
The bottom in the Quickfire were Dale (whose steak-wrapped oyster was bland), and Carla (who made fried catfish and hushpuppies, which Paula said were like spitballs). Mike ended up winning, even though Paula gave Richard the fitting moniker, “Mr. Hairdo”–or Haircut. It’s all a blur.
For the elimination challenge, New Orleans chef/god John Besh joined the judging panel, as the chefs had to cook Gulf seafood at a reception to help raise money for fisherman affected by the Gulf oil spill. Since they needed help, the six previously eliminated cheftestants were brought in to assist.
Tiffany and Carla both thought they had this one in the bag (because they’re southern!), but Carla got annoyed when her sous chef, Tre, didn’t know anything about southern food. She suggested that she take his NAACP card away for the offense. With the added cheffage, Dale complained that the kitchen wasn’t big enough to fit all these people, even though it fit even more people when the season started.
At the event, Mike served shrimp encrusted with grits; Blais made fried snapper with grits and pulled pork; Carla tried to redeem her fried fish Quickfire debacle; Tiffany allowed her sous, Marcel, to make the glaze for her shrimp without tasting it; Dale freaked out about his fish stew; and Antonia made crab cakes. Blais, Mike, and Antonia wound up in the top, with Blais winning for his unusual combination of components, and he got a trip to Barbados. Richard said he would take Fabio with him on the trip (because he’s Italian!). Wait, what?
Tiffany, Dale, and Carla were the bottom three. Tiffany’s shrimp were overcooked (though Marcel cooked them), and her glaze was too sweet (though Marcel made that), but she stood behind her dish and didn’t blame him for its failure. The potatoes in Dale’s stew were undercooked, his mustard crouton overwhelmed his fish’s flavor, and Carla’s fish was just overpowered by the other components on the plate. In the end, Dale was eliminated, which gives us two big shockers in a row–here’s hoping Blais doesn’t fall next!
