S19.E04: Dopplegangers

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The chefs are joined by local chef Chris Williams in the Quickfire Challenge; He tasks the chefs to put their own twist on a biscuit dish in honor of his great grandmother, Lucille B. Smith.

Original air date: March 24, 2022

[Leeds]

13 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Original air date: March 23, 2022

I believe this tomorrow, the 24th.

[Bastet]

I didn’t get home quite in time, so turned on the TV just in time to see Padma’s reaction to being served a piece of fried cheddar.  She didn't seem pleased, so I laughed pretty hard when Jackson won.

Wylie Dufresne usually bugs me (so I really enjoyed how much Jo and Evelyn were totally not into the whole molecular gastronomy thing), but I really liked the parameters of this EC – that’s tricky!

Jackson and Buddha did such an impressive job making their dishes look alike, I thought they were going to blow everyone else out of the water on that front, but Monique and Damarr nailed that, too, and most of the pairings looked more alike than I was expecting people to pull off.  I underestimated them.

For a team elimination, it’s good they both made mistakes, so someone doesn’t resent going home for someone else’s mistake while the other feels like shit for sending someone home.  That would have been true if the other team went home, too.

[Straycat80]

That was a different and fun challenge. I don’t think they’ve ever done that before on Top Chef?  I knew Jackson and Buddha would win when Padma said the dessert was the best they had on TC. 
Not surprised Sarah went home, I think she was on the bottom last week. 
I love cheese so I would have loved that chunk of fried cheese Jackson made in the biscuit challenge. 

[Tess23]

What a fun episode. I've been cheering on Jackson No Taste/Smell, and am planning on having lunch at Huso next week in NYC (hoping for a Buddha sighting), so was very happy with their win. Both plates looked like something I'd love to eat.

And Wiley! You handsome dog! Loving the short hair and scruffy beard.

[Msample]

The elimination challenge managed to both original yet interesting instead of some of the contrived crap they’ve done in the past.

 

Loving the absence of Guest Dbag Blais.

[Souris]

That was a really interesting Elimination Challenge and provided some of the most intriging dishes this season so far. Some of the teams were very innovative.

(I did not mean to do all “I” adjectives, LOL.)

I think the right team went home. I was surprised Demarr messed up his cornbread. Glad to see Ashleigh on the top after the string of bottoms — since she’s an N.C. chef, I want her to do well.

Jae is hilarious.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Souris

[Leeds]

Good to see that Wylie Dufresne has finally found the shampoo aisle.

[VintageJ]

Loved this challenge.  This was one of those challenges I wouldn’t mind seeing every year.

[MsMalin]

I LOVED this challenge! So fun and most teams did an excellent job.. Jackson is on a roll!

[Ms Blue Jay]

I guess I'm the only one who didn't care for the challenge at all.  What do I care if chefs can make food that looks like other food?  I couldn't care less. I just want to see good dishes and I don't like the "challenge" of "Make this dish look like this other dish" hindering the quality of the food.

Also, ouch, TWO people going home?  Robert and Evelyn both seem to be front runners so I absolutely hated this and didn't want to see either of them go.

I enjoyed the food of this episode and but not the parameters.  Also a whole challenge around biscuits?  Ugh.  Something I'm not interested in whatsoever.

[SemiCharmedLife]

Wow!  If there was ever a time I wish we had taste-o-vision!  I was so intrigued by the elimination challenge and wanted to experience the dishes in person!  I always marvel at the creativity of the chefs (as an uninspired cook at home) and this challenge took it to another level.  It is disappointing that Robert was eliminated- he's had some great dishes.  I really love that they get to compete in Last Chance Kitchen.

[Fukui San]

This was a good way to incorporate the avant garde style of food represented by Wylie Dufresne without requiring each chef to use molecular gastronomy techniques. It reminded me of a Top Chef Masters challenge in which they went to the Magic Castle and each was assigned a word for inspiration like "Surprise" and "Mystery" and "Illusion". One chef who said she didn't do fancy food did a fake scallop. She cut a daikon radish into a scallop shape and hollowed it out, stuffing it with a blood red beef tartare. Dufresne might have been a judge on that episode too, I don't remember. But it's an example of unusually presented food done made without special tricks.

I was thinking about what I'd propose to make for this. I think what I'd propose would be to have one dish be traditional seafood dishes: Raw oyster on the half shell with toppings and a batter fried scallop on a scallop shell. The presentation they do with the shells balanced on a mound of rock salt.

Then do desserts which mimic them in the seafood presentation. A panna cotta in the oyster shell. I think maybe coffee might lend the right color. Then a fried banana slice on the scallop shell.

I think Jackson halfway admitted to Buddha that his sense of taste isn't there. "Tasting's not my thing right now." I don't even know how you make tuiles in that precise shape. A squeeze bottle? A stencil? They were so perfectly shaped and there were so many of them.

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I guess I'm the only one who didn't care for the challenge at all.  What do I care if chefs can make food that looks like other food?  I couldn't care less. I just want to see good dishes and I don't like the "challenge" of "Make this dish look like this other dish" hindering the quality of the food.

Isn't that Top Chef, though?  Pretty much every challenge introduces an element or constraints that they have to cook under that could potentially hinder the quality of the food. It isn't like they're telling them to make salmon not look like salmon.  They just had to find similar looking foods. 

The chefs who did poorly didn't do so because they had to take care with their presentation.  It came down to execution of taste or texture. As a result, the judges said the food was the best this season.

I was so pleasantly surprised to see a challenge unlike any I can recall in the past.  It was a great TV challenge because of how visual it was and I was surprised how well everyone did at that part, even those who were in the bottom.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Irlandesa

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

Wylie Dufresne usually bugs me (so I really enjoyed how much Jo and Evelyn were totally not into the whole molecular gastronomy thing), but I really liked the parameters of this EC – that’s tricky!

 

I'm so glad he got rid of those ridiculous sideburns. He looks like a normal human now!

 

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

most of the pairings looked more alike than I was expecting people to pull off.  I underestimated them.

I was really impressed too. These chefs all seem to have really good "tweezer skills."

[jackjill89]

I loved this challenge. It really required the chefs to think outside the box and work in tandem with a partner. 

I think it raised the bar for the contestants this season. 

Jackson and Buddha's was so precise and beautiful and apparently was absolutely delicious. They deserved the win. That being said, I won't be happy if the chef who can't smell or taste wins this year. While I guess that is the ultimate challenge, it irks me for some reason.

[Lassus]

I seem to be the only one who thought that Jackson and Buddha's dishes had a real difference in appearance - the consistency of the green sauce additive.  On one dish it looked like balsamic on olive oil, far more separated, while on the other it looked a lot more flowing and broken up.  I know it was a great, amazing, gorgeous dish that deserved to be on top and that was a minor point; but as much as they were nitpicking I thought that would be pointed out by someone.

Double elimination was especially harsh, but I still liked it.  Real stakes.  This honestly was one of my favorite episodes in years.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Lassus

[oldCJ]

7 minutes ago, Lassus said:

I seem to be the only one who thought that Jackson and Buddha's dishes had a real difference in appearance - the consistency of the green sauce additive.  On one dish it looked like balsamic on olive oil, far more separated, while on the other it looked a lot more flowing and broken up.  I know it was a great, amazing, gorgeous dish that deserved to be on top and that was a minor point; but as much as they were nitpicking I thought that would be pointed out by someone.

I agree the sauces looked very different. Looking at the plates as the judges tasted each, it didn’t look like there was much sauce on their plates at all. Definitely not drowning in sauce like the example dishes that get filmed separately. 

I am still amazed Jackson is doing so well for someone with no sense of taste/smell.

Hated how many finger bandaids there were during the quickfire. Who knew biscuits were so dangerous?

[seltzer3]

Kind of surprised that Monique and Nick didn't make the top.  Especially since Monique had the opening confessional of always being in the middle.

-There is a thing as ostrich sausage?

-Jae is hilarious.  "I don't like to bake, but I love to get baked", along with her dynamic with Nick.

*Edit, yes it should be Monique and Damarr

Edited March 25, 2022 by seltzer3

[sugarbaker design]

11 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

Kind of surprised that Monique and Nick didn't make the top.

It was Monique and Damarr, right?

12 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

Especially since Monique had the opening confessional of always being in the middle.

I thought for sure Monique was going home after that!

[dgpolo]

5 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I thought for sure Monique was going home after that!

Me too!

Also felt the 'cracks' beginning to show, both Jo 'why am I helping her' and Jae 'no, no don't talk to me' (or something like that)

[GeorgiaRai]

11 hours ago, VintageJ said:

Loved this challenge.  This was one of those challenges I wouldn’t mind seeing every year.

I loved it, too, and wouldn't mind seeing it repeated, but I really enjoyed the suprise element of it this time.  Watching the contestants taste & describe the look-alike dishes while looking around in confusion? And then come up with all those ideas on the fly?  So fun. 

You never know how people will react to things, so I don't blame COVID guy for not announcing his (hopefully temporary) weakness in the competition.  And while he might be mentioning it repeatedly at production's request, maybe he just talks about it a lot because he's thinking about it a lot - and wondering/worrying if he's compensating adequately.  

[rhofmovalley]

My nephew is finally starting to get back his senses of taste and smell and we had Covid over a year ago. He thinks about it a lot since he's young and has a healthy appetite. So I can imagine a professional chef would constantly have it on his mind.

I liked Robert. Seems like a nice, humble guy. I don't really recall much about Evelyn. 

I did LOL at Jae. She seems like the quiet type who has a lot of surprises underneath the quiet exterior.

[VintageJ]

8 minutes ago, GeorgiaRai said:

 

12 hours ago, VintageJ said:

Loved this challenge.  This was one of those challenges I wouldn’t mind seeing every year.

I loved it, too, and wouldn't mind seeing it repeated, but I really enjoyed the suprise element of it this time.  Watching the contestants taste & describe the look-alike dishes while looking around in confusion? And then come up with all those ideas on the fly?  So fun. 

 

You’re right about the surprise element. They looked so confused. It was so funny.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Isn't that Top Chef, though?  Pretty much every challenge introduces an element or constraints that they have to cook under that could potentially hinder the quality of the food.

What was that in the biscuit challenge?
What was that in the Asian food market challenge?
What was that in carbs challenge?  

It's great that some people liked the challenge.  Personally I didn't care for it.

I appreciate @Fukui Sanexplaining who Wylie is, because I'm so glad they didn't do a molecular gastronomy challenge.  This is preferable.  I appreciated that some of the teams got really creative.  But it was not my favourite.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[meep.meep]

At least no one whipped out the Richard Blais standard:  the banana scallop

I would have let go the other bottom two team.  

[carrps]

14 hours ago, Tess23 said:

And Wiley! You handsome dog! Loving the short hair and scruffy beard.

I don't know if I'd go that far, but I always hated his Dutch Boy bob. His hair is so much more flattering now!

[BlackberryJam]

This was such an interesting challenge. I’ve become more appreciative of food presentation in the past decade or so. I love it when my food looks interesting. Sure, I don’t want to sacrifice taste, but I don’t think anyone did. I enjoyed this challenge so much more than forcing a chef to cook totally out of their wheelhouse.

Each chef could make whatever they want, they just had to match visually. It stretched their skills in a totally different way.

I could see differences in every single dish pairing. I could see a consistency difference in Wiley’s sample dishes as well. I’m okay with it. 

I’m also fine with Jackson. He’s mentioned he has most taste back but only a little smell, so he’s probably improving as time goes on. He’s doing so well based on his flavor memory that he would be kicking ass if he were at full chef strength.

I barely remember Robert and Evelyn. I was happy for Damarr and Monique. I like Damarr a lot. I like how he cooks, how he holds himself, how he deals with pressure. 

Of note, I HATE strawberries, so wouldn’t have even touch the winning or losing desserts. Strawberry is such an insipid flavor it makes me want to scrape my tongue. However, I loved how well they were used for the visual in the winning dish. That panna cotta look weak.  

[sugarbaker design]

7 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I was happy for Damarr and Monique. I like Damarr a lot. I like how he cooks, how he holds himself, how he deals with pressure. 

Same here.  I loved Monique's impression!

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What was that in the biscuit challenge?
What was that in the Asian food market challenge?
What was that in carbs challenge?

Making biscuits.  Drawing an Asian cuisine you're not familiar with and having to take inspiration from one of the dishes provided.  I don't remember the carbs challenge.

I get not liking it.  I hate the camping challenges where they have to cook over the fire they built using only old pots and pans but I think the challenge was relatively mild in comparison to other constraints they've used.

[Ms Blue Jay]

31 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Making biscuits.  Drawing an Asian cuisine you're not familiar with and having to take inspiration from one of the dishes provided.  I don't remember the carbs challenge.

Sorry, I do not see these parameters as additional challenges that could hinder the quality of the food.  I find those parameters far more freeing than this challenge.

Yes everything on Top Chef is a challenge:  "Make this type of food".

The challenge, "Make a type of food that looks like another food" is what I didn't care for. It leaves the chance that both people in the team will have to compromise their food in order to fit their partners', and also compromise the food that they normally or know how make to fit the challenge.  I found it more constricting than freeing.

I'm also not sure I get the value of a chef knowing how to make a food look like something.  And I'm not sure the judges explained this well.

Making a good biscuit, make Asian food, make a dish with carbs - at least I can see the value of that.

I guess they were trying to make a point about presentation, but I found it kind of muddled.  I'm not exactly excited about eating from a chef that knows how to disguise my food into something it isn't.  It felt like more of an art challenge, but I guess they want to show that they value presentation a lot.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Lamb18]

I hardly recognize Wylie Dufresne with short hair.

[Lamb18]

Jo eats ice cream like I do - straight out of the carton.

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, oldCJ said:

I agree the sauces looked very different. Looking at the plates as the judges tasted each, it didn’t look like there was much sauce on their plates at all. Definitely not drowning in sauce like the example dishes that get filmed separately. 

I am still amazed Jackson is doing so well for someone with no sense of taste/smell.

Hated how many finger bandaids there were during the quickfire. Who knew biscuits were so dangerous?

Some of them really have terrible knife skills.

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I’m also fine with Jackson. He’s mentioned he has most taste back but only a little smell, so he’s probably improving as time goes on. He’s doing so well based on his flavor memory that he would be kicking ass if he were at full chef strength.

That panna cotta look weak.  

I was about to call foul on Jackson because I truly don't believe a cook can continually make winning dishes without being able to taste or smell, which is what Jackson kept yammering on about in the early episodes.  I don't remember him saying what you say @BlackberryJam, but since I find him kind of smug and pompous, I might have not been paying attention.  It does however beg the question of why the producers (and he) kept highlighting his complete lack of taste and smell if it wasn't true.

And I thought the panna cotta dishes looked revolting.

[carrps]

I absolutely loved this challenge. What a clever way to challenge their creativity! I think the judges appreciated how difficult it was and were suitably impressed at how most cheftestants pulled it off. I really wanted to taste most of these dishes.

Loved Jae's "baked" comment.

I also loved when Padma was talking about how fun it was for them to watch the chefs work, Melissa reminded her what it was like on the other side. I'm a big Melissa fan.

 

[BlackberryJam]

27 minutes ago, Leeds said:

 

I was about to call foul on Jackson because I truly don't believe a cook can continually make winning dishes without being able to taste or smell, which is what Jackson kept yammering on about in the early episodes.  I don't remember him saying what you say @BlackberryJam, but since I find him kind of smug and pompous, I might have not been paying attention.  It does however beg the question of why the producers (and he) kept highlighting his complete lack of taste and smell if it wasn't true.

And I thought the panna cotta dishes looked revolting.

During last week's street market challenge, one of Jackson's voiceovers, I think was him mentioning he had taste back, but that smell was still difficult and so much of cooking was scent. I believe when the VO was happening, the showed him at his tent holding a dish of something so close it looked like he was snorting it.

I'm certain the producers keep asking him about it in the talking heads because it is remarkable that he's doing so well. The producers like a storyline. COVID and the side effects are very topical, so I'm sure that's why the want to highlight it.

[marybennet]

I think it's impressive that Jackson is doing so well.  It says something about his knowledge and skills and flexibility that he can put together great dishes while having to struggle with smell and taste.  It seems like it would have to be the product of considerable experience and a highly developed sense of what works with what and how tastes inflect each other.  It's kind of inspiring to me to watch him come back from this big ugly illness that has been so hurtful to the world.  Big applause for him from my house!

[Rai]

I'm guessing Jackson has an unusually strong taste memory, which is helping him out. It's something that's aided (and hindered) me in my own cooking at times -- remembering how flavor profiles have developed and how well they might combine. I'm just a home cook, but it's helped me get better at winging it at times. A guy on his level has a great theoretical cupboard to pull from and feel comfortable that he's headed in the right direction.

Given how important presentation is in fine dining and how chefs need to be able to replicate an intricate plate multiple times a night, this challenge makes sense on that level. In a cheeky way, it also speaks to how presentation can either elevate expectations or trick them. I love a more cerebral challenge on occasion.

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

Jo eats ice cream like I do - straight out of the carton.

Oh, that’s exactly how the producers need it to be eaten on TC, otherwise they couldn’t zoom in to show the Talenti label multiple times within a couple of minutes.

[carrps]

Oh, and I loved Buddha asking Jackson why he picked the guy who lost at biscuits. 😅

Maybe he can't make a biscuit, but Buddha's a smart chef.

[seltzer3]

One of the obvious things that made this challenge difficult, was the fact that they had to make two "duplicates" of every component.

But execution wise, it makes it really difficult, because if one wasn't careful you could accidentally swap your duplicates onto the final plate.  Like if one wasn't careful for example with Demarr and Monique.  You could easily have a Cornbread Ice cream.  Or a cookie chicken mousse sandwich.

I was really nervous especially when Ashleigh and Luke were swapping components each other.  Ashleigh was doing duplicates of both components  (whereas others were just focused on their dish).

Kind of shocked that no one completely bombed it, considering everything mentioned above.

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Rai said:

I'm guessing Jackson has an unusually strong taste memory, which is helping him out. It's something that's aided (and hindered) me in my own cooking at times -- remembering how flavor profiles have developed and how well they might combine. I'm just a home cook, but it's helped me get better at winging it at times. A guy on his level has a great theoretical cupboard to pull from and feel comfortable that he's headed in the right direction.

 

 

I agree, but as you say, an experienced chef or home cook knows when they're headed in the right direction, but I would still maintain that they need to be able to taste to get to the best end result.  Ingredients from fruits and vegetable to spices and proteins vary by batch/climate/age/purveyor to the soil they were grown in.

I don't mean to wang on about this, but I just find something a little hinky about Jackson's "story".

Edited March 25, 2022 by Leeds

[hula-la]

47 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I agree, but as you say, an experienced chef or home cook knows when they're headed in the right direction, but I would still maintain that they need to be able to taste to get to the best end result.  Ingredients from fruits and vegetable to spices and proteins vary by batch/climate/age/purveyor to the soil they were grown in.

I don't mean to wang on about this, but I just find something a little hinky about Jackson's "story".

He’s not the only chef to have lost his sense of taste and still excel. https://www.npr.org/2011/03/03/134195812/grant-achatz-the-chef-who-lost-his-sense-of-taste . Though, Grant Achatz wasn’t in a cooking competition and could rely on his other chefs to help him out. 

[Colorado David]

Wylie my man, shoulda gone with this hair like 10 years ago. I appreciate the I cook great so my appearance isn't so important mindset, BUT it's nice seeing chefs looking nice. I don't know, maybe that's a me thing. I have the same issue seeing lip-rings on my chefs - it's perfectly fine, but for me it detracts. THAT is definitely a me-thing.

Interesting challenge - someone thought outside the box for this one, which I appreciate. Really impractical in reality, but a fun chef mental challenge to tackle. I was amazed at how well everyone did at it. I couldn't duplicate someone else's pork chop, much less the level these guys did.

Buddha is interesting - confident yet not confident at the same time. He seems like he does really know his stuff.

 

[dgpolo]

3 hours ago, Rai said:

Given how important presentation is in fine dining and how chefs need to be able to replicate an intricate plate multiple times a night, this challenge makes sense on that level. In a cheeky way, it also speaks to how presentation can either elevate expectations or trick them. I love a more cerebral challenge on occasion.

 

3 hours ago, carrps said:

Oh, and I loved Buddha asking Jackson why he picked the guy who lost at biscuits. 😅

Maybe he can't make a biscuit, but Buddha's a smart chef.

I thought Jackson said that he specifically chose Buddha because the challenge was going to rely heavily on presentation and that was something he had noticed Buddha was good at. It wasn't another biscuit challenge so he didn't need someone who was good at biscuits.

[carrps]

31 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I thought Jackson said that he specifically chose Buddha because the challenge was going to rely heavily on presentation and that was something he had noticed Buddha was good at. It wasn't another biscuit challenge so he didn't need someone who was good at biscuits.

I know. He was joking, and I thought it was funny.

[HyeChaps]

This reminded me a little of the "Dessert Imposters" challenge they do every season on Kids Baking Championship--only on a way higher level.  A lot of fun and a showcase for creativity.

[IdEatThat]

I loved this elimination challenge.  Top Chef please have more of these interesting challenges.    (I’ve never fully recovered from the sharp shooting/skiing/ice chopping season).  

Normally there are a few dishes I’m sort of meh about.  This challenge I would have eaten every bite of every dish.   They all did a great job. 

[Souris]

21 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I don't even know how you make tuiles in that precise shape. A squeeze bottle? A stencil? They were so perfectly shaped and there were so many of them.

Right??? Those things looked mass produced they were so precise!

[Totale]

13 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

There is a thing as ostrich sausage?

A BBQ place near where I used to live had ostrich burgers.  i checked and they seem to be off the menu now, maybe they are seasonal.  Tasted like slightly gamier chicken.