S19.E06: Texas Trailblaze-hers

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The chefs must create salty-sweet desserts that will inspire a new flavor of Talenti gelato; in the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must draw inspiration from the lives of some of Texas' most influential women.

Original air date: April 7, 2022

[Bastet]

I'm not sure highlighting the women of Texas and addressing how they're now under legislative attack compares to production having told TX they were taking their money and jobs elsewhere, but I don't remember the timing to know if that was even possible, let alone realistic. 

I was touched by the little snippet of insight into a Black female chef's experience when Ashleigh said this is the first time she's felt part of the group in a kitchen, and she wants her kitchen to be one where people feel seen and heard.  And by Jae's affection for that brief time spent working for Leah Chase, how it finally felt like cooking with a grandma and how Ms. Chase wrote in support of her visa.

Nice to see Tiffany, Kelsey, and Nini.  I like all of them, especially Tiffany.  And then that assembly of women at the dinner table - fantastic.  I loved Damarr being affected by the energy. 

I really wanted ALL those QF dishes (or at least some Talenti gelato; every time they do one of these challenges, I don't happen to have any in the freezer).  I love that Nick and Ashleigh won for ginger snaps and pork rinds, after she'd just come back from LCK and people were pretty much running away from him during the pairing up because of his ingredient.  Boy did she need the immunity for the EC, though -- "We have to be able to say 'your baby is ugly'," ouch.

I was so happy Evelyn won the EC.  Obviously, taste is the biggest part, but just by looking at the top three, I was far more interested in hers than the other two.  I love that even the visually impaired judge was wowed; the presentation was just part of what made it stand out.

I knew Monique was doomed as soon as she cut way back on the broth and halved the larger oysters.  I think Luke might have gone home had her dish gone out without her second-guessing it like that, but it would depend on how much flavor was in that broth. 

For the EC, I'm glad they didn't embarrass anyone by showing them not knowing who their inspirational woman was; if anyone hadn't known Barbara Jordan, I would have flipped.  Some connections between inspiration and dish were more tenuous, but I like that even those chefs seemed to take some time to learn about their assigned women rather than conceptualizing a dish and then breezing through the dossier to find something from her life to hang it on.  I was touched by Luke saying dyslexia makes researching harder for him than the average person, as my dad has dyslexia (it's fairly mild, but he grew up long before anyone knew what that was let alone that he had it; thankfully, despite growing up in abject poverty in a tiny town, he had a couple of wonderful teachers early on who helped him learn how to read and understand, even if he did it a little differently).

Jo wiping Nick's plates without being asked was nice.  Evelyn answering Damarr's tortilla questions, too, of course, but Jo just saw a little messiness, was done plating, and automatically helped.

[whinewithwine]

12 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'm not sure highlighting the women of Texas and addressing how they're now under legislative attack compares to production having told TX they were taking their money and jobs elsewhere, but I don't remember the timing to know if that was even possible, let alone realistic. 

I've lived here all my life and I'm a news junkie.  Women of Texas are not under legislative attack.  This sounds more like a narrative that started with Padma's rant at that march in Houston before they started filming.

More importantly, I'm rooting for home town girl, Evelyn.

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by whinewithwine

[ProudMary]

I was very happy for Evelyn, especially as her beautiful dish was able to honor a woman who had meant so much to her. I can't even imagine how she felt to know she had shared her dish with Selena's sister. ❤️

I loved this challenge honoring these wonderful women of Texas, especially Barbara Jordan and Ann Richards, whom I admired greatly. Having Cecile Richards at that table as her mother's representative meant a lot to me as she is a great Texan in her own right and also someone I admire greatly. 

I'd love to be able to try Nick and Ashleigh's Quickfire dessert. To make a winning dessert with pork rinds seems miraculous to me! And I'm glad it gave Ashleigh the immunity she needed for the Elimination Challenge. 

Lastly, from the shallow end, I LOVED Padma's leather dress from the QF. She looked amazing!

[Cozytea]

I was so happy for  Evelyn. Myself being a Mexican-American born in but not raised in south Texas,  Selena is a emotional icon to so many of us. 

[The Solution]

Other than the dishes in the top and a few others, notably Damarr's, the dishes didn't seem as successful this week. Except for the Quickfire, where everything looked successful and no one was noted as being in the bottom.

Yet again, this is the most talented group I can recall and I've been a fan since Season 1. Even more notable, these cheftestants are all likable. Very difficult to see anyone leave from this point forward.

I gotta note that I loved Ashleigh's rap in the middle of the show.

[rustyspigot]

It was a little harsh to have Ashley, who has immunity still be in the bottom. Padma: We just wanted to let you know we hated it.

Jae honors Babe, by honoring someone else. I would have swapped her out with Ashley in the bottom.

Monique was circling the drain for weeks. Monique: Barbara Jordan was such an inspirational woman so I'm making beans.

And Luke incorporated seaweed. AGAIN.

Good for Evelyn!

I love it when Gail gets pissed. "I got beans and two halves of an oyster!"

[Leeds]

Jackson about his inspiration:  "She had a lot of hearts and guts."  Inquiring minds want to know just how many hearts the human body can accommodate.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Leeds

[Ms Blue Jay]

I completely missed the ingredient requirement in the quickfire.  Can someone help me out?

Edited April 8, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Irlandesa]

21 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I completely missed the ingredient requirement in the quickfire.  Can someone help me out?

Half of them were told to pick a salty ingredient.  Half were told to pick a sweet ingredient. After they had selected their ingredient, they were told they had to pair up for a partner challenge to create a sweet and salty dessert. 

It was sponsored by Talenti.  They showed Talenti's newest sweet and salty flavors. They said the winning dish might inspire a new gelato flavor but they didn't need to create gelato.

[Leeds]

26 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I completely missed the ingredient requirement in the quickfire.  Can someone help me out?

Obviously not me, since I was under the misapprehension that they had to make icecream.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Leeds

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, rustyspigot said:

It was a little harsh to have Ashley, who has immunity still be in the bottom. Padma: We just wanted to let you know we hated it.

They always seem to do that.  If they have immunity, it feels like they always end up in the top or bottom.

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Half of them were told to pick a salty ingredient.  Half were told to pick a sweet ingredient. After they had selected their ingredient, they were told they had to pair up for a partner challenge to create a sweet and salty dessert. 

It was sponsored by Talenti.  They showed Talenti's newest sweet and salty flavors. They said the winning dish might inspire a new gelato flavor but they didn't need to create gelato.

Thank you!  I don't know what the heck I was doing when this was announced.

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

They said the winning dish might inspire a new gelato flavor but they didn't need to create gelato.

I laughed from jump that one of the prizes was that the winning combination would "inspire" a new flavor, not any promise that the winning dish would be reproduced as Talenti's newest flavor, and then harder when the winning dish incorporated pork rinds.

Yes, that's simple logic, especially where they didn't have to create a winning gelato (unlike a contest to, for example, create a quick-frozen meal that can be packaged and reheated, the winner of which will be replicated that way), just a winning dessert that combined salty and sweet like so many of the Talenti gelato and sorbet options do.  But the pork rinds being involved made me chuckle imagining Talenti's relief they just had to be "inspired" in exchange for this product placement.

[Vermicious Knid]

I hate these kind of challenges. Take this complex, inspiring person and make them into a food. The quickfire was much more interesting. Buddha and Jackson in the top again. Final five should those two, Evelyn, Nick and DeMarr.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Vermicious Knid
wrong name

[Fukui San]

Can't wait to see what Talenti will do with pork rinds to inspire a gelato flavor.

People complaining a couple of episodes ago: "When would we ever see chefs try to make one food resemble another food?" Nick this episode: "I'ma carve these potatoes into adorable mushrooms for no reason whatsoever."

I would have the hardest time with this elimination challenge. If you aren't given a list of foods these people liked, then what do you have to base your decision on? Am I delving into stereotyping? Or substituting my own story in the lives of the subject? It's even more weird than when they have to base a dish on a movie or something. And I don't think the judges pressed to hard into the story aspect of the dishes, so in the end it didn't matter that much. But it would have messed with my head in the conception stage.

Hard to understand why Monique made the decisions that she did. She didn't want the oyster to get soggy. Well, we've seen plenty of times a chef pour in a soup at tableside. Was that not an option this time? 

Oh and Evelyn's gizmo for making the fried item in the Quickfire was awesome. Never seen it before.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Fukui San

[caitmcg]

45 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Oh and Evelyn's gizmo for making the fried item in the Quickfire was awesome. Never seen it before.

It’s a rosette iron.

 

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

Can't wait to see what Talenti will do with pork rinds to inspire a gelato flavor.

 

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole, but bacon icecream has been a thing for a while now.  Not saying it's in every neighborhood 7-11, but Padma being so shocked and awed about the use of bacon in dessert was at the very least disingenuous.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Leeds

[nokat]

I was shocked at three bean salad. It is seven bean salad.

[Macbeth1966]

A picture of Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan:

It looks like it was taken around the time Bill Clinton said he wanted to nominate Barbara Jordan to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately her health prevented it.

I would love to know what they were laughing about.  I really loved how Top Chef honored these great Texas women. 

[Maya]

That was a strange challenge. The real challenge was: who can come up with the best BS story to tie the dish they want to make to a woman they know nothing about. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Maya

[Rammchick]

And so nice to see Christine Ha doing well in the culinary world -- she was wonderful to watch on MasterChef.

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Maya said:

That was a strange challenge. The real challenge was: who can come up with the best BS story to tie the dish they want to make to a woman they know nothing about. 

After they were given a dossier about the person they'd never heard about.  They're are plenty of things the producers should be embarrassed about on this show but people should be fired over this.

[dleighg]

8 hours ago, Fukui San said:

People complaining a couple of episodes ago: "When would we ever see chefs try to make one food resemble another food?" Nick this episode: "I'ma carve these potatoes into adorable mushrooms for no reason whatsoever."

yeah what was that about? And what on earth did it have to do with Ann Richards? What did any of his meal have to do with her (that was his inspiration, right?)

I kept looking at Cecile Richards thinking she looked ridiculously familiar. And then they showed a caption saying she was Ann Richards' daughter. And I was like, ok, so why does she look like someone I've seen before. And then I was like "Oh, CECILE RICHARDS." I didn't know (or else forgot) that she was Ann Richards' daughter. 

I just heard a story about Selena yesterday on the radio (who I admit I know next to nothing about, as I was a working mother of two little tots around the time she died). Glad that Evelyn got her.

I guess I missed how they decided who got which woman-- I assumed at first it was by QF team, but realized it wasn't. It seemed like 5 (was it 5?) people picked the five women, and then Padma just announced who the other 5 had.

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by dleighg

[NaughtyKitty]

40 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

And so nice to see Christine Ha doing well in the culinary world -- she was wonderful to watch on MasterChef.

I hadn't heard of her before watching this episode but I had to Google her while watching.  Now I need to find her MC season!

[Lassus]

8 hours ago, Leeds said:

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole, but bacon icecream has been a thing for a while now. 

Well, maybe, but not Ben & Jerry's, that picture is a well-known photoshop joke.  🙂

Similarly, though, I did one time purposefully buy chocolate infused with bacon at a pretty high-end chocolatier on upper 5th avenue.  It was a really awful flavor combination, and I would not recommend it even - or especially - if you LIKE bacon.  Or chocolate.  Or food in general.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Lassus

[Lassus]

People whine and bitch about an episode like this, but as above, if the food is still awesome and someone is exposed to someone new like Selena or Babe Didrikson Zaharias or Christine Ha, it did its job.  Cry harder.

I do think the judging could have been done better as a real show of respect by having the only the group of the woman whom the dish was inspired by or the closest relative or descendant to see what was made as judges.  A quibble, but I still think it was a bit too half-assed try-hard, as much as I enjoyed it. 

Also, either one of those two left could have gone, they were each deserving.  I almost thought they both could have left, but then I remembered they already did that once!

Edited April 8, 2022 by Lassus

[buttersister]

I was torn between a dislike of food challenges so contrived and hey, look at these Texan women! Nice to see the women at the table, too bad they had to say stuff like, "She was feisty, spicy, but this dish isn't spicy." Missing Molly Ivins, too. 

Anyway, Evelyn! It's still early, so anything can happen, but she, Buddha, Nick, DeMarr and Jackson (so far) are making the food I want to eat. They're cooking at a high level, with low drama--even Jackson's taste problem isn't taking over and it's amazing he's doing so well. Talk about taste memory!

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, Fukui San said:

People complaining a couple of episodes ago: "When would we ever see chefs try to make one food resemble another food?" Nick this episode: "I'ma carve these potatoes into adorable mushrooms for no reason whatsoever."

Was there a connection to the challenge?  Can someone explain that for me?

[dgpolo]

55 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I guess I missed how they decided who got which woman-- I assumed at first it was by QF team, but realized it wasn't. It seemed like 5 (was it 5?) people picked the five women, and then Padma just announced who the other 5 had.

They pulled knives, we saw (most) of the first five pull the knives then Padma said something about the other five would pull the same five names even though it wasn't a team challenge. I guess they edited for time? Also did anyone notice that the two with immunity were edited at the table and we didn't hear exactly what they said about their inspiration. And I though it was odd the way they had the table offset from the doorway, half the table had to look almost behind them to see the two chefs.

After she presented Monique? asked Jackson to taste a bit of her food, he did, but before he took it in his mouth he said 'maybe you should ask someone else'

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, Lassus said:

Well, maybe, but not Ben & Jerry's, that picture is a well-known photoshop joke.  🙂

Similarly, though, I did one time purposefully buy chocolate infused with bacon at a pretty high-end chocolatier on upper 5th avenue.  It was a really awful flavor combination, and I would not recommend it even - or especially - if you LIKE bacon.  Or chocolate.  Or food in general.

I don't know about chocolate and bacon, but I have had praline bacon and it is delicious.  

[cameron]

Did anyone catch Nick's lack of knowledge of the stunt pilot.  She died in the 1920's but he said she went to Europe to train the same time he went to Europe to become a chef.  Surprised that it wasn't edited out.  Don't think so.

[HurricaneVal]

11 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Can't wait to see what Talenti will do with pork rinds to inspire a gelato flavor.

I thought about that last night, and decided they'd probably go to chocolate covered bacon or candied bacon as a substitute.  The whole thing about pork rinds is the bubbly crunch factor, which would get totally soft and slimy in ice cream.  Blech.  But crispy bacon, especially if candied, should hold up. 

Full confession:  My butcher does a bacon candy that is savory-salty-sweet and truly addicting.  I avoid that end of the counter, lest  temptation get the best of me.

 

While I admire all the women honored by the challenge last night, I just don't get the whole "make a dish to represent a person" bit.  If the person isn't known for something associated with food in particular, exactly how does one go about that?  Ann Richards was governor of Texas, so would a bunch of Tex-Mex be good enough?  Or did you really have to know that she liked Thai food?  At least with Selena there were cultural touchstones, and Evelyn being a fan and having her dish look like a flower which matched her favorite Selena song just really, really worked.  But....how does an aviator inspire a dish?  Do you make Airline Chicken and call it good?  For an athlete, do you put together a protein shake? 

I guess that was part of the challenge, imaginative chefs who come up with a hook, like Jackson ("heart and guts" indeed....) to tie their dish--however tenuously--to the subject would be OK, so long as the dish was good.  No shade to the strong women of Texas (....and Tom), but this challenge was a stretch.

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, cameron said:

Did anyone catch Nick's lack of knowledge of the stunt pilot.  She died in the 1920's but he said she went to Europe to train the same time he went to Europe to become a chef.  Surprised that it wasn't edited out.  Don't think so.

Yeah, I heard that, but I don't think he actually meant that -- I think he meant she was the same age when she went to Europe as he was when he went to Europe (same time in their respective lives, not same time in history).

[meep.meep]

I thought the same thing.

Ann Richards was famous for the saying "that dog won't hunt" meaning that something was a non-starter.  If I got her, I'd choose something that you would hunt, like quail or venison, and base the dish around that.  I also assume that the dossier included some of their favorite foods.

[Msample]

48 minutes ago, cameron said:

Did anyone catch Nick's lack of knowledge of the stunt pilot.  She died in the 1920's but he said she went to Europe to train the same time he went to Europe to become a chef.  Surprised that it wasn't edited out.  Don't think so.

I got the sense that he was saying she went to Europe at the same AGE as he did. 

[bosawks]

I like Monique as a chef but she really seems like one that should always go with her first impulses.

[AriAu]

Is it just me/have I watched too many seasons of Top Chef or is this season boring? It feels like most people are very nice and pleasant and have nice and pleasant personalities, but there is no one to really root for.....or against.  Just pretty blah all the way around.

[jackjill89]

I liked Monique's idea of using ingredients that would have been available during that time period, but who in the world thinks putting a fried oyster in broth is a good idea? 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I didn't really see how any of the dishes represented the women that they were supposed to honor.        Maybe if it would have been their favorite dish or something.    

[Colleenna]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

I thought the same thing.

Ann Richards was famous for the saying "that dog won't hunt" meaning that something was a non-starter.  If I got her, I'd choose something that you would hunt, like quail or venison, and base the dish around that.  I also assume that the dossier included some of their favorite foods.

And Barbara Jordan.... her "We the people " speech has to be one of the most powerful speeches I've ever heard in my life (you youngsters  /non-Americans can find the text online). So what would you make to represent  her? Something  quintessentially American,  like Apple pie? (That actually could work....a salted caramel apple pie...)

[Bastet]

35 minutes ago, jackjill89 said:

I liked Monique's idea of using ingredients that would have been available during that time period,

Yeah, the judges had a couple of negative comments about the idea behind her dish (while, of course, focusing on the actual food she put out), but I liked her concept -- she was impressed by how Barbara Jordan, who became a national leader, always remained an advocate for her Fifth Ward hometown, so she wanted to cook the food Jordan would have grown up eating there.

[cameron]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, I heard that, but I don't think he actually meant that -- I think he meant she was the same age when she went to Europe as he was when he went to Europe (same time in their respective lives, not same time in history).

Like your thinking.

 

[JenMcSnark]

6 hours ago, Lassus said:

Well, maybe, but not Ben & Jerry's, that picture is a well-known photoshop joke.  🙂

Similarly, though, I did one time purposefully buy chocolate infused with bacon at a pretty high-end chocolatier on upper 5th avenue.  It was a really awful flavor combination, and I would not recommend it even - or especially - if you LIKE bacon.  Or chocolate.  Or food in general.

Hahaha!  I love bacon in high end chocolate.  If I see one anywhere, I buy it.  lol

[Chicago Redshirt]

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

For the EC, I'm glad they didn't embarrass anyone by showing them not knowing who their inspirational woman was; if anyone hadn't known Barbara Jordan, I would have flipped. 

I would be surprised if people who are non-Texans, non-Black and/or less than 40 would know Barbara Jordan much or at all.

19 hours ago, The Solution said:

Other than the dishes in the top and a few others, notably Damarr's, the dishes didn't seem as successful this week. Except for the Quickfire, where everything looked successful and no one was noted as being in the bottom.

I don't remember a QF with this many contestants where there were not people called out as being on the bottom. I wonder if this was a rare case where all dishes were successful or if three did get called out and it was edited out.

7 hours ago, Leeds said:

After they were given a dossier about the person they'd never heard about.  They're are plenty of things the producers should be embarrassed about on this show but people should be fired over this.

I'm confused. Why should people be fired?

3 hours ago, cameron said:

Did anyone catch Nick's lack of knowledge of the stunt pilot.  She died in the 1920's but he said she went to Europe to train the same time he went to Europe to become a chef.  Surprised that it wasn't edited out.  Don't think so.

I was under the impression that he was stretching for some affinity under the notion that they both went to Europe for their careers around the same time in their lives. 

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I thought the same thing.

Ann Richards was famous for the saying "that dog won't hunt" meaning that something was a non-starter.  If I got her, I'd choose something that you would hunt, like quail or venison, and base the dish around that.  I also assume that the dossier included some of their favorite foods.

The thing that I remember Ann Richards for was saying that George H.W. Bush was born "with a silver foot in his mouth." and for generally being witty. I'm not sure how one makes a dish about that, though.

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I didn't really see how any of the dishes represented the women that they were supposed to honor.        Maybe if it would have been their favorite dish or something.    

I do have to concede that the notion of doing a dish inspired by X is often a stretch and is more about how the chef can sell the connection rather than the actual connection. But "inspired by" allows for a pretty wide spectrum of stuff. The one chef who was like, "My person is bold. Leah Chase is bold. So here's a gumbo" got away with shenanigans.

[amarante]

6 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Was there a connection to the challenge?  Can someone explain that for me?

The connection as stated by the chef was that she had modified her diet a lot when she was diagnosed and so he used protein and vegetables that might have been part of her new eating habits as opposed to more typical Texan ingredients. 
Her daughter said a few times that she would have loved the dish. It’s as good a connection as any of them since most of the time these inspired by people have pretty tenuous connections 🤷‍♀️

[carrps]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Richards for was saying that George H.W. Bush was born "with a silver foot in his mouth." and for generally being witty. I'm not sure how one makes a dish about that, though.

That was the first thing I thought of! Couldn't think of how to turn that into a dish, though.

You know you people who hate Brooke Williamson? That's how I feel about Kelsey. Times 10. Ugh. For me, the Kentucky season was the absolute rockbottom season of Top Chef. A steaming pile of garbage.

Evelyn's dish was so pretty. I'm glad it tasted good. Jackson has guts, too. Offal is a real turn off for a lot of people. I can remember Tony Bourdain going to Chris Cosentino's restaurant whose menu was offal-based. He (TB) kept going on about how delicious it was. Made me want to taste it.

Monique has had lots of issues, so I'm not surprised at her leaving. Ashley was lucky she had immunity. She's had a few hits, but the misses are piling up.

Edited April 8, 2022 by carrps

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, amarante said:

Her daughter said a few times that she would have loved the dish.

I thought that was nice of Cecile about both dishes.  She let all the foodies offer up their critiques but then made sure to say both dishes were all the things her mom loved.

(BTW, for anyone who doesn't know, Cecile Richards is herself a kick-ass woman.  Among other things, she was the president of Planned Parenthood for many years.)

There was nice camaraderie at that dining table.  I loved Padma cautioning Sheryl Swoopes to pace herself after Sheryl ate Evelyn's entire dish.  Everyone mocking Tom's terrible paltry/poultry pun was fun.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Bastet

[Josiemae]

23 hours ago, whinewithwine said:

I've lived here all my life and I'm a news junkie.  Women of Texas are not under legislative attack.  This sounds more like a narrative that started with Padma's rant at that march in Houston before they started filming.

More importantly, I'm rooting for home town girl, Evelyn.

 

Thank you for saying what so many of us were thinking. Anyway, it's not about social justice, it's about virtue signaling. 

Okay TC - we get it! You're really really really woke driving around in your BMWs.

Now that we've had our weekly lecture ... can we eat? 

[Spicysweet]

3 hours ago, carrps said:

 

You know you people who hate Brooke Williamson? That's how I feel about Kelsey. Times 10. Ugh. For me, the Kentucky season was the absolute rockbottom season of Top Chef. A steaming pile of garbage.

 

Glad to hear someone say what I thought of TC Kentucky. I just rewatched it, and the entire season was worse than I remembered. The challenges were boring, and the final two just didn't impress me at all.  The only positives about that season were Eric and Justin.