Let me start off by saying that this is probably  the first episode in a long time that I saw where some real criticism and judging took place. I don’t know…it just seemed that way to me. However, in all that “real” judging, I question the outcome of tonight’s show.

So last week, Mel and Eugene were sent home and now we are down to 9 cheftestants.

Our Quickfire Challenge starts with Hung Nguyen in the kitchen with Padma. Hung is the winner from Season 3. Hung was one of the fastest chefs in the kitchen. Today’s challenge is to use pre-canned, pre-processed foods to make a dish in 15 minutes. No fresh vegetables. The chefs make a mad dash for the table of canned goods.  THey all talk about how they all use fresh, farm-direct foods in their regular lives. They can’t handle that they have to make everything from canned goods. This is slightly better than the vending machine challenge from several seasons ago!

Carla – Asian Salmon Cake with Fried Green Beans & Lemongrass-Ginger Mayo
Jeff – Deep Fried Baby Conch, Coconut Sauce & Piña Colada
Hosea – Sweet Pea Soup with Spam, Onion Rings, Pork Rinds and Hearts of Palm
Fabio – Mac & Cheese with Roasted Artichoke and Chili Pepper
Stefan – Baked Bean & Spam Soup with Grilled Cheese & Spam Sandwich
Jamie – Bruschetta with Garbanzo Beans, Artichoke & Smoked Mussels
Leah – Waffles with Strawberries and Sausage
Ariane – Open Faced Turkey Spam Sandwich w/Gravy and a Cranberry/Pineapple Chutney
Radhika – Spicy Red Bean Dip with Grilled Bread

Hung really didn’t like Lea’s waffles, Radhika’s beans and Jamie’s bruschetta. 

So who did win? He liked Hosea, Stefan and Jeff’s dish. Overall, Hung liked Stefan’s Bean and Spam Soup. Hosea was pissed because he gave Stefan some of his extra Spam that Stefan added to his dish. Could Hosea have won the Quickfire if he didn’t him the Spam?

So up comes the Elimination Challenge. The teams draw knives and they end up on 1 of three teams based around a protien: Chicken, Pig and Lamb. Each team has to develop a family-style seasonal meal for 16 people. This includes a dessert.

Chicken: Stefan, Carla and Jamie
Pig: Fabio, Jeff and Radhika
Lamb: Hosea, Lea and Ariane 

They are given the night off and shopping and prep will happen tomorrow. Back at the apartments, the teams break up into their teams and discuss menu options. There is tension on the Chicken team and Stefan tries to control the menu. Meanwhile the other teams figure out their menus. However, they all get up really early and start to second guess their menu ideas. Jamie and Carla met the night before and tried to convince Stefan to change the menu. Before Jamie can get a word out, Stefan is whole heartedly opposed. Hosea starts to question how they will cook their lamb.

They all get into the cars and start to head out. They soon realize that they are not heading towards Whole Foods. They travel out to the country and end up at Stone Barns Center which is a non-profit 80-acre educational center and farm which is conenected to Blue Hill which is run by famed chef Dan Barber.

They will be “shopping” from the fields and the farm. They are making lunch for the farmers and the families at the Stone Barns Center. I think this is one of the most ingenious ideas that the Top Chef producers have come up with. The cheftestants are walking thru the crops and the farm animals and connecting with the land. Being able to cook with the ingredients straight off the farm is awesome!

Team Chicken Menu (Stefan, Carla and Jamie)

Chicken Cutlet, Lemon-Herb roasted Chicken, Chicken Ravioli Soup and a Nectarine & Strawberry Tartlet

Team Lamb Menu (Hosea, Leah and Ariane)

Roasted Duo of Lamb, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Rosemary & Garlic-Roasted Potatoes, Swiss Chard and a Summer Berry Trifle.

Team Pork Menu (Fabio, Radhika and Jeff)

Seared Pork Loin, Sausage Ravioli with Pesto, Fried Green Tomatoes, Grilled Corn Salad with Bacon and Créme Brulée

 Watching everything happening in the kitchen, I’m really gunning for the lamb team. However, I have to give props to Carla and Team Chicken. It was a nice simple menu. I question the soup. Apparently it was really hot that day, so the soup may get them.

The dishes are served and it seems that the judges are critical of the lamb. They are also not fans of the pork dishes. In fact, their favorite thing from Team Pork was the Green Fried Tomatoes!

We get to judges table and Team Chicken is asked to confront the judges. Carla, Stefan and Jamie stand in front of the judges and we find out that they are the winning team. The farmers and the judges really enjoyed the chicken dishes.

Guest judge Dan Barber has the pleasure that all three of them win this challenge! Yea Carla! Your first Elimination Challenge win! This makes Jamie’s 2nd win in the series. I was really happy for them. 

Padma asks the winners to go back to the room and send both teams to face the judges. the judges were really unhappy and picked apart each team. They discussed roles in the kitchen, to decision making to the amount of work done by each chef. The judges were just horrified at how they took baby lamb and basically butchered it – and not in a good way. Hosea, the most experienced butcher, was chastised for not stepping up to the plate to assist Ariane who didn’t know how to butcher the lamb. Ariane also didn’t know how to truss up the roast properly. Leah stood by and had nothing to offer. Meanwhile they were also upset at the pork team for making the decision to trim the fat from the pork. They liked the ravioli if it wasn’t for the heavy pesto on top. 

The judges deliberated and they talked about each of the team members in the Pork and Lamb teams. However, when it came to decision time, they make the decision to send Ariane home. I totally disagree with this. Both Radhika and Leah did little to contribute to their teams. All the judges said it openly, yet their decision was to send Ariane home.