It’s the last episode of Top Chef: Kentucky filmed in Kentucky. I am tired. I am hangry. Today, I have written or edited over 10,000 words .My eyes may be bleeding. I have not eaten and just set some brown rice next to me to shovel in while I type about good food. There are over a hundred emails in my box and some maxed out a fifty comments per email. I am not in the mood for foolishness. So let’s get this done.
The Last Kentucky Quickfire
Tom Colicchio arrives at the old Kentucky Top Chef home at the butt crack of dawn. It must be a breakfast challenge. He wakes everyone up and tells them to meet him in the garden. The winner of the Last Chance Kitchen joins the group. It’s Michelle Minori. I don’t remember a thing about her because my brain no longer functions at all.
The Top Chefs harvest whatever they have grown in their individual gardens to make a dish that highlights their harvest. Eric has not been tending to his garden at all. Sara has a flourishing garden. She should be a front runner.What about Michelle’s garden? Adrienne has a lot of squash and squash blossoms. I’m over Adrienne.
Sarah makes Byaldi. Apparently, Byaldi is a variation of ratatouille, Or something. Kelsey fries green tomatoes. Eric is making a coconut gazpacho. Adrienne is making a salad. How original. Michelle has some sort of radish dish going. Justin has a radish salad plan. Kelsey burns her hand. It’s chaos in the kitchen.
Eric, Kelsey and Michelle were in the bottom That leaves Sara, Adrienne and Justin in the top. Justin wins.
Off To Macau!???
The final five after the elimination challenge will be flying off to China! How sad to be eliminated before such and epic trip! Each of the chefs have one of their mentors flying in to help them. Eric gets Bryan Voltaggio he is the only chef I recognize.
The they each have $500 to buy their specialty foods at a food auction. It’s all very Survivor. First up, is rabbit. No one wants it. I have a feeling the next options will be worse. Sara gets a great ham for $85. Eric gets Wagyu beef. After the proteins, the bidding goes crazy for the vegetables.
Adrienne is buying things that her chef is known for cooking. Is he going to make the meal?
It’s Time To Cook!
In the kitchen, there is a lot of discussion about girl power and the women taking over the season. Surprisingly, there are only two guys left. So, I’d be shocked if either Eric or Justin left at this point. Kelsey has shells in her lump crab that must be picked out. She’s only working with one good hand so this is problematic. I am worried she may not see China. Also, Michelle’s salmon has over cooked and white albumin is showing. I never knew what caused that. I always “over cook” my salmon. Fish should be well done. I think the white stuff has more to do with how fast you (over) cook it.
Straight To The Dinner Table
Lately, the format for both Top Chef and Project Runway seems so rushed to me. It feels like we barely get a glance into the designers work room. And, we hardly see the Top Chefs cook at all. Also, the judges are sitting down and we haven’t even seen the mentors. I feel like everything is super rushed lately I barely had fifteen minutes to walk and feed the dog today.
I guess the mentors are judging and were only inspiration. First, they taste Michelle’s dish. They loved it. She she is going to Macau. Kelsey made a gumbo using two rues. Unfortunately, Adrienne’s mentor got crab shells. Otherwise, they loved it. Next, Adrienne’s duck was good but her presentation was awful. The plates were not even wiped. The duck was under-seasoned. Even her mentor was underwhelmed. Justin plated is food to quickly and ended up having to put it under the heat lamp. He could be in trouble. Finally, it is time to present his dish. It’s been too long. The all hate it. I will miss Justin.
Eric is not happy with the way his dish looks. In the dining room, the judges’ reviews are mixed. Tom thinks the dish is incomplete without greens. Sara’s dish is sea bass with an Iberico ham broth and shaved Iberico ham on top. I love ham. I love sea bass. However, I do not think I would love them together. All the judges really liked it.
The Judges Table
Sara won. They didn’t even mention any other front-runners. Apparently, there was no competition. Even Tom raved about her dish. Gail Simmons was over the moon. I’m so happy Gail is back at the table. I wonder if she will go to Macau?
It seems everyone else is in the bottom. Except Michelle. The judges had no issues with her. Any of the rest could go. But it should be Adrienne. It came down to Justin and Adrienne. They sent Justin home.
Next week, I’m excited to see Top Chef: Kentucky in Macau! Eric gets pissed at the judges. That never ends well on Top Chef. It looks like a female will take this season.
