The chefs piled into the minivans and headed to San Diego just a few minutes into the latest episode. The Quickfire this time around was a sudden-death challenge: “decadent” fish tacos in 20 minutes.
Kwame was concerned: “There are so many technical things that can go wrong; it’s not easy.” He initially posted here at BookMaker at +720 and those odds have been inching in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Wesley was convinced someone stole his lobster (they did not).
In Angelina’s case, desperation made her forget to actually serve her fish tacos on a plate. They looked delicious on the counter. Chad smirked like the winner he was, his grilled thresher-shark taco with oyster and sea urchin and sal de gusano being deemed “very unique” by the typically restrained Javier.
Karen’s “very nice” Korean-fusion oyster taco with kimchee was a close runner-up, and Kwame’s wahoo/truffle/chipotle salsa combo rounded out the top three. Karen's odds went up a few weeks back at +790 and this should change things handily.
The news was bleaker for Angelina, who was automatically up for elimination, thanks to not serving any food, and she is given one last chance in the kitchen before being demoted to the online-only "Last Chance Kitchen": now that she has lost, she got to challenge the chef of her choice to a head-to-head battle for redemption. If she wins, they both stay; she picked Wesley.
Angelina came up with a crostini topped Caesar salad in a pile; Wesley envisioned a “composed egg dish.” Despite the fact that Angelina remembered to put her food on a plate this time, Wesley won for his perfectly fried egg, and Angelina was sent packing.
Beer was the key to the elimination challenge: In honor of San Diego's booming craft-beer industry (Grunion anyone?), the chefs had to create a dish that “captures the essence” of the beers in their hands.
Padma’s golden ale had notes of jalapeño, ginger, and tamarind, explained Padma. Richard’s red-label stout was all about beets, chocolate, and North African spice blend ras el hanout, explained Richard. The legendary Emeril clung to a beer that had coffee, cayenne, and tangerine.
In the morning, Wesley faced issues: He’s just become executive chef of Richard Blais’s old restaurant, and not only is Richard Blais a judge, but Wesley picked Richard Blais’s beer.
And it’s tasting time! First up: Padma's beer. Chad’s dish got the Ballast Point (a popular brewery that was on hand) stamp of approval, but was outdone by Amar’schicken breast. Amar began this thing as a long-shot of sorts, clocking in at +1000, but that is changing bit by bite. Richard, Karen, Jeremy and Wesley followed.
The trio working with Emeril’s New Orleans beer — Carl, Phillip, and Marjorie — were solid enough, though Marjorie’s dish came up short.
As a finale: the Banana Toms. Isaac presented his ambitious plate, only to be upstaged by Kwame, and Jason crawled across the finish line with funky meatballs.
Praise was unanimous for Amar, Karen, and Kwame. The true winner was Karen.
Wesley finally fell, having arrived at the end of hisTop Chefroad. And then there were nine.
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