Top Chef Recap: Stunt Queens

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This week, I’m extending my sympathies and well-wishes to everyone struggling with the elaborate schemes required by the show’s sponsors, as we’ve reached this season’s toughest challenge yet: a tie-in to a blockbuster film that puts the producers under immense pressure. While Top Chef: Houston demanded dinosaur-themed dishes and All Stars 2 created monochrome Quickfires in tribute to Trollz: World Tour, we now find Top Chef: Destination Canada asking its chefs to replicate a stunt, or what could be seen as a gimmick, inspired by Ethan Hunt’s feats for the upcoming Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

To put it simply, it’s inevitable that shows like Top Chef have numerous sponsorships and branded competitions. This has been a part of the show since its inception. Understandably, some might find it bothersome to see so many product placements, but let’s face it, without financial support from companies like Chipotle, tourism boards, and others, Top Chef wouldn’t last as long as it has. So, we just have to accept it and try to overlook the frequent shots of Saratoga Springs water bottles. Hopefully, the sponsored challenges maintain a level of classiness throughout.

Regarding this week’s Mission Impossible theme for the show, it’s quite acceptable. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by how creatively our chefs interpreted the concept of “stunt.” Over the years, there have been some challenges with narrower or sillier themes, like the infamous “chaos cooking,” but this one doesn’t seem too outrageous. It pushes the cheftestants to walk a fine line between a gimmick and an impressive culinary achievement, which I find intriguing.

In the show Top Chef, there’s yet another twist. Kristen proposes a challenge that could give the contestants two benefits: walking around Toronto’s CN Tower’s perimeter to earn an extra $75, and imitating the “king of the world” pose from the Titanic over the edge, which would extend their total cooking time by 30 minutes. I’m deathly afraid of heights, so even with safety equipment and promises about my well-being, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it without being a complete wreck. Everyone manages to reach the top of the tower, but Lana and Massimo opt out of the lean, resulting in them having 30 minutes less than everyone else to complete their tasks.

In various interpretations, the concept of a “stunt” can be quite diverse, often falling short of Greg Tarzan Davis’ expectations on the show “Final Reckoning”. If he thought he would see smoke and fireworks, he may have arrived 16 seasons too late for the Vegas season. (Additionally, it seems Tom Cruise wasn’t able to send a video message? Quite impolite.)

Bailey and Lana explore optical illusions in cooking. Lana is content with her creation of a “fish mosaic” from fried fish, but the judges find the textures unappealing. Bailey prepares a savory lasagna that resembles dessert due to its large slices, although it doesn’t quite look like tiramisu as she suggests. Despite this, the dish remains confusing yet tasty enough to win over the judges, allowing Bailey to claim a top position in the competition.

In simpler terms, Cesar, Tristen, and Vinny approach this task inspired by Tarzan’s unique style, with varying results. Cesar experiments with a strange mix of sweet salmon mousse, but fails to replicate the success of his pickle curd dish, ending up with a confusing (and perhaps slightly burnt?) result. On the other hand, Tristen, who’s dealing with the pressure of making the competition meaningful following his father’s passing, seems unfazed and manages to impress the judges with his bold flavors, even when he incorporates an unconventional “virus” (liver mousse) into his chicken wings. I wish he would stop using that term, as it was something I strongly advised against from the moment he first tried it.

Vinny has a knack for becoming engrossed in intricate details. He designs “laser-cut” breadsticks as a surprise element for diners, who must break through them to reveal a hidden veggie key and chilled tartare beneath. The idea is appreciated by guest judge Buddha Lo, a two-time winner of Top Chef and a finicky food aficionado. However, Vinny’s attempt to create a smoky effect by placing the dishes on dried ice results in everything turning into solid blocks of beef ice. This unappetizing mishap leaves not even Kristen, known as the Queen of Junk Food, disinclined to partake.

Despite the show’s efforts at thrilling pranks, I was most captivated by the straightforward methods used by Shuai and Massimo. Instead of opting for the extravagant antics of Wylie Dufresne, they chose to create dishes that might seem unworkable. For instance, Shuai attempted an elevated version of turducken, a dish that was just good enough to keep him from elimination.

Despite the risk of failure, Massimo opted for an ingenious approach. Rather than attempting a brand-new dish, he chose to demonstrate his culinary prowess by preparing a trout en croûte within a mere two hours.

Spectator, I exclaimed. Generally speaking, hastily speeding up the cooking process for a complex dish to meet a deadline is usually disastrous and leads to a quick dismissal for chefs. However, astonishingly, Massimo manages to pull it off.

Despite not appearing to be the most spectacular dish at first glance, every judge at that table is well aware of how remarkable it is that he managed to create a dish under pressure which, based on conventional wisdom, shouldn’t have been rushed. By integrating his accelerated cooking time into his “trick,” Massimo ingeniously flips the challenge upside down. For the first time this season, he clinched the Elimination Challenge without any caveats or exceptions. Needless to say, his triumph left him visibly elated, as it rightfully should have been.

It seems I’ve left out discussing the Quickfire challenge until now. Since immunity isn’t a factor anymore, it looks like this season has resumed allowing judges Gail and Tom to participate in the Quickfire round. This allows them to evaluate all the chefs thoroughly before deciding who will be eliminated.

It seems more logical to have all three permanent judges in the Quickfire Kitchen, as they can then evaluate each chef comprehensively when determining their final decisions. However, during ‘Top Chef: Wisconsin’, I found myself questioning the decision-making process because there wasn’t enough clarity on how the judges balanced the performance in Quickfire challenges with those in Elimination Challenges. For instance, it was unclear what constituted a dish so poor that it could outweigh a successful one, and more transparency about these factors would help reduce my doubts. Simply explaining your reasoning behind decisions would make them far less debatable!

This week, Lana’s fried-ish fish didn’t go quite as planned, but she managed to impress with her Italian sub-inspired mussel dish in the Quickfire challenge, securing her safety. Vinny’s tartare was frozen and underwhelming, and even his first place finish in the Quickfire might not have been enough to save him from elimination on a stronger week.

Luckily for Vinny, unfortunately for César, the spontaneous approach that we’ve come to appreciate from César didn’t work out this time. He struggled significantly with both tasks, and he is well aware of it. Therefore, when Kristen instructs him to gather his knives and leave, he does so with a smile and a promise to give his best in Last Chance Kitchen, where Katianna, the current champion, is waiting.

Leftovers

Speaking of LCK, it seems this week is the ideal time to tune in if you haven’t been regular viewers. SPOILER ALERT, so beware if you haven’t (truly, consider stepping away now). Assuming we’re all on the same page now, let’s proceed: Cesar unexpectedly clinched the victory! Who would have guessed? While I don’t mean to slight that wonderful man… not me! Katianna had convincingly outperformed everyone, but the exhaustion from essentially completing seven Quickfires consecutively eventually took its toll. I’m glad for Cesar as he gets a second chance, but I can’t help but feel genuinely sorry for Katianna, who had been presenting a strong case for her comeback until an improperly seasoned soup led to her elimination.

• Kristen Kish’s Pinstriped Suit Catches My Eye: This blue and silver pinstripe outfit reminds me of the red and gold suit from the first episode, but in a fresh color scheme that I adore. I can’t help but rate it an impressive 9/10.

Is it just Massimo remaining in the competition who has children… In that case, his refusal of the lean X2 isn’t surprising at all.

• Dude’s a dork (I say fondly), but Vinny’s deadpan “thanks” made me laugh so hard.

• Massimo acknowledged that his idea of using zucchini flower-blossom mussels seemed unique to him until he witnessed Tristen doing the same thing. This caused Tristen to wink in a triumphant manner, ultimately surpassing Massimo in the process. Impressive! I’m just the messenger here!

In the upcoming week, it’s rumored to be Montreal. Given that this season of Top Chef has been particularly impressive in Toronto, I hope they’re expanding their reach. However, if it does turn out to be Montreal, watch out for Massimo, he might struggle! So, good luck, chefs!

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2025-05-09 06:08