Top Chef Recap: Taste the Rainbow

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Looking at how things played out on “True Colors,” it felt inevitable that Nana would be eliminated. She hadn’t presented a dish that really impressed the judges, and she consistently struggled with both how things tasted and getting them done on time. Once the judges saw she was consistently falling behind in the Elimination challenges, they likely didn’t expect her to suddenly improve. When Gail said Nana wasn’t reaching the necessary level, it seemed like a clear sign she was going home. Someone would have had to perform significantly worse than Nana – perhaps by serving even less food – to avoid elimination, and that just didn’t happen.

I strongly disagree with the judges’ assessment of this Elimination challenge. They seemed to think almost everyone failed, and I felt that was unfair, which is why I didn’t enjoy this episode. It felt like the judges had unrealistic expectations and were unnecessarily harsh – even mean-spirited – in their critiques. Were they hoping for brightly colored food? We already saw elaborate, colorful displays in the ‘Hook’ fantasy feast! Given the ingredients the contestants were provided, I think they did a good job, and it was disappointing to see them so heavily criticized when they didn’t really deserve it.

The episode kicks off with the Quickfire challenge, featuring a visit from chef Emeril Lagasse. The contestants are tasked with making livermush – a somewhat unappealing-sounding North Carolina food – into something delicious. As someone from Maryland, I recognized it as similar to scrapple, a processed meat product. In fact, North Carolina law requires livermush to contain at least 30% pig liver, along with other meat scraps and cornmeal. While some, like Nana, Duyen, and Rhoda, weren’t fans of the smell, most contestants were simply unfamiliar with it. They cautiously sampled the grey meat before starting their 30-minute cook time, hoping to give livermush a better reputation, as Kristen put it. And a funny thought: do you think Sieger has ever tasted cat food? Let’s hear your opinions in the comments!

Things were tough right from the start. I was really worried when Jennifer had to leave to get her shoulder checked – she was still hurting from an injury she got before filming even began! Nana was talking a lot about what everyone else was doing, saying their dishes were too simple, but then her whipped cream totally broke and turned into butter. Laurence, who’d already won the first two Quickfire challenges, seemed a little stressed. And honestly, so many people went with eggs, and a lot of them fried the livermush to try and make it crispy. It was anyone’s game! Let’s see how everyone’s dishes turned out.

  • Duyen: Livermush and grilled chicken banh mi with pickled carrots.
  • Nana: Livermush French toast and maple syrup.
  • Anthony: Livermush pâté with tomatoes, cayenne, and livermush croutons.
  • Justin: Brown butter hollandaise, cornmeal fried livermush, roasted grapes.
  • Jonathan: Livermush Benedict.
  • Sherry: Livermush foie gras with potatoes and pickled sunchokes.
  • Laurence: Cantonese steamed egg with livermush and marinated tomatoes.
  • Sieger: Piccalilli beurre blanc with seared livermush (The Great British Baking Show fans, you might remember piccalilli from “Pastry Week” last season).
  • Oscar: “Livermushroom” toast with parmesan whipped cream.
  • Brandon: Arpège egg with livermush (inspired by Chef Alain Passard’s dish from his Paris restaurant Arpège).
  • Brittany: Crispy livermush, pâté, grape mostarda.
  • Rhoda: Pork and livermush meatballs inspired by Spanish albóndigas, peaches, Marsala Dijon sauce.

At the bottom were Nana, who didn’t quite capture the livermush flavor in her French toast; Laurence, whose steamed egg was too watery; and Brittany, whose dish was both bland and uninspired. While Laurence usually performs well, Nana and Brittany have consistently faced challenges – Nana with time management and Brittany with creating memorable food. Brittany’s cooking is decent, but lacks a personal touch, which is becoming increasingly important on Top Chef. On top were Duyen, praised for her excellent banh mi rooted in her Vietnamese heritage; Anthony, whose livermush croutons were a hit with Emeril; and Rhoda, who cleverly used cornmeal from the livermush in her meatballs. It’s great to see Anthony, who’s been quiet until now, win $10,000, but Rhoda’s consistent success suggests she’s the strongest competitor this season. (At least for now.)

The latest challenge on Top Chef started with a dramatic reveal – dyed fabrics dropped from the ceiling! It felt like an unnecessary jump scare. The contestants were tasked with using natural food dyes to create a dish with two elements featuring those dyes, celebrating the Carolinas’ history with textiles. While there was a good selection of natural coloring ingredients like turmeric and hibiscus, the judges immediately referenced intensely colored foods like rainbow bagels and tricolor pasta. This created a disconnect, as it seemed impossible to achieve those bright shades with the natural dyes provided. It felt unfair to expect such vibrant results. I wish Kristen and Emeril, and later Tom and Emeril, had reassured the contestants that colorful dishes wouldn’t be seen as immature. There was a clear hesitation among the competitors, a fear of being too bold and appearing childish, and the judges didn’t seem to offer enough encouragement to overcome that fear.

The contestants have a decent amount of time – two hours to prepare the first night, and another hour the next day. Thankfully, Jennifer’s urgent care visit revealed no broken bones, just a likely pinched nerve, and she’s determined to keep cooking despite the pain. I was surprised so few people, other than Jennifer, Laurence, and Brandon, opted to make dough, as it really shows off color. Many contestants seem to be simply adding natural food coloring to white ingredients and hoping for the best, which feels inconsistent after last week when everyone meticulously incorporated peppers into everything. It’s also puzzling why more chefs didn’t use ingredients like tea, tomato paste, or peas to create color. It’s possible the judges asked too much, but it’s also true that the contestants were so focused on the two dyes provided that they didn’t challenge themselves enough.

Let’s talk about Nana’s struggles on the show. While other chefs faced challenges – Laurence substituted dehydrated strawberries for cherry juice in his bao dough, and Jennifer couldn’t initially manage her milkbread dough due to arm pain – Nana fell furthest behind. She was one of the first to serve, attempting a complex chicken galantine stuffed with crab. Nana acknowledged her poor time management and planned to do all the prep work on day one, hoping to make service day easier. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. She overfilled the chicken while rolling it, causing it to fall apart during cooking. She had to unroll it, remove some filling, reroll it, and then try to cook, rest, portion, and plate everything within an hour. Just writing about it is stressful! You can’t magically create more time, and that’s exactly what Nana needed. The editing suggests she pulled the chicken from the oven with only 30 seconds left, making it impossible to properly slice and plate it for the judges. She only managed to put a small amount of onion puree on each plate – no one received any chicken – and she was visibly upset when time ran out, clearly disappointed in herself. Here’s a look at all the dishes created.

  • Brandon: Deconstructed lasagna Bolognese with marbled pasta, whipped ricotta, and an herb olive oil.
  • Nana: Yassa onion puree (chicken galantine not served).
  • Jennifer: Milk bread bun stuffed with pickled shrimp, served with red eye gravy.
  • Anthony: Mole negro, mole rojo, and mole verde with chicken.
  • Laurence: Flight of three bao: yellow chili pork, green curry beef, strawberry matcha.
  • Brittany: Pan-seared scallops with broccoli and chlorophyll puree, daikon, carrot and saffron broth.
  • Justin: Lamb and clams with dyed vegetables.
  • Sherry: Charcoal-brined pork chop with rainbow spätzle, red cabbage, kumquat and sourdough vinaigrette.
  • Jonathan: Cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork), jalapeno cilantro crema, turmeric rice, hibiscus pickled onion, habanero salad, and guajillo oil.
  • Sieger: Vadouvan-poached scallop, braised daikon, braised calamari with squid ink and onion soubise.
  • Oscar: Tricolor red snapper, corn nuts, and leche de tigre.
  • Rhoda: Mussels in escabeche with marbled potatoes, mojo rojo, and mojo verde.
  • Duyen: Brioche-stuffed roasted chicken with preserved lemon tagine and charcoal parsnip puree.

The judges are being exceptionally critical of the chefs, often reacting with shock and making harsh comments. It’s gotten to the point where it’s almost comical – one judge actually complained about not receiving blue rice! They seem to expect a perfectly colorful presentation, but there’s no acknowledgement that their expectations might be unrealistic or that they may not fully understand the challenge. The judges repeatedly question whether the chefs adequately transformed the ingredients, even though the core of the challenge seemed to be simply creating flavorful dishes with dyed ingredients. This resulted in an unusual judging session where Anthony, Laurence, and Brandon were praised for their top-performing dishes, but then nearly everyone else was called out as being among the worst.

The Judges’ Table segment was brief, as Tom immediately challenged all ten contestants, asking them to defend their dishes. The key takeaway? Never admit any weakness! Tom is known for being harsh, and he didn’t hold back, calling Sherry’s pork “flaccid” and her sides “wacky,” and criticizing Oscar’s knife skills as “not precise.” Kristen skipped the usual process of identifying the bottom three performers. It seems likely Brittany and Rhoda, whose dish was described as strangely flavored and visually unappealing, would have been among them. Nana was eliminated after Kristen bluntly stated her dish was disappointing and highlighted that she only used one colored ingredient. This was a surprising move, as Top Chef sometimes overlooks minor shortcomings in completing challenges. However, Nana’s previous weak performance in the Quickfire challenge and her history of struggling in eliminations likely sealed her fate. She’ll compete on Last Chance Kitchen, but will miss out on next week’s season 22 winner, Tristan Epps, and a potentially soul-food themed challenge. And a word of advice to Sieger: never serve okra to Tom!

Leftovers

This week, I was really craving Jonathan’s deconstructed lasagna, Jennifer’s shrimp milk bun, Laurence’s bao flight, and Brandon’s pork. And, as always, I had to try Duyen’s banh mi – I can’t resist them!

The new season of Last Chance Kitchen starts next week on March 30th. Hopefully, this season won’t feature the same format where a very skilled chef has to compete against previously eliminated contestants.

Honestly, the grey food reminded me of something fashion experts Tom and Lorenzo often say about drab dresses – that they look like dirty dishwater. And that’s exactly what Duyen’s grey parsnip puree looked like.

Typing for long periods gives me a pinched nerve in my right arm, which is really painful. I’m wishing Jennifer a speedy recovery. I also found Justin surprisingly likable this episode – I appreciated his honesty about his past and thought his nickname for Jennifer, ‘Pickle,’ was adorable.

Another charming detail is Laurence’s mother’s history as a member of a Chinese rock band. If you enjoyed the TV show We Are Lady Parts and are looking for something similar, check out Riot Women on BritBox. It’s fantastic and stars Lorraine Ashbourne – what more could you ask for?

It was also really cute when Oscar joked that their comfy night in – wearing matching sweatsuits and face masks with Rhoda, Sieger, and Brittany in the Top Chef apartment – was “how gangs start.” He definitely deserves a skincare sponsorship and some free products!

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2026-03-24 05:56