S22.E02: Brunch à la Boulud

[ProudMary]

Airdate: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Synopsis:

Actor Sarah Levy joins Kristen and Gail for the Quickfire Challenge, tasking the chefs to put their spin on Canada's famous poutine. For the Elimination Challenge, Daniel Boulud joins the judges' table as the chefs team up to create a brunch.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I can't wait to see this one.  Poutine, and Daniel Boulud should make for a great episode. 

[susannot]

Love Daniel Boulud.  I ate a memorable meal at Cafe Boulud in NYC.  The two chicken dishes mean that I am making chicken and waffles this weekend.  I wish I could make chawanmushi and souffles but apparently Corwin actually can't.  But Vinny can make a beautiful souffle.

[Bastet]

I felt bad for Corwin when he walked out to see the unset dish that still had the plastic on it had been given to Daniel Boulud.  He's lucky the rest of his team did so well.

Last week they didn't even bother to deliberate, just sent Mimi home, and while this time they had a discussion, I had no doubt it was Bailey getting the boot.  After reading about her dissing Anya in the QF last week (I hadn't seen it, as I was out of the room for a little bit), once she screwed up, I rooted for her to be the one to go.

I'm glad Anya's dish, with those pine cones she'd brought as one of her special ingredients, was so well received.

It's really cool for Zubair to win with the dish that launched his culinary career.

I did not like - at all! - the twist of the teams giving each other mandatory ingredients, but was impressed with what the brown team did with them, especially Paula with the candies.

[buttersister]

As predicted, bye, Baily (at least for now). She caught my attention when, explaining that her food was Italian/Asian, she had cooked at Parachute. Co-owner and chef at Parachute was Beverly Kim, who we will remember as a target of that season’s mean girls, starring Bailey’s boss, Sarah Gruenberg.

Beverly and her husband closed Parachute (they have another place), so I guess Bailey went from there to Sarah’s place, Monteverde, where I think she is currently.

Edited March 21 by buttersister

[bravofan27]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

 

Last week they didn't even bother to deliberate, just sent Mimi home, and while this time they had a discussion, I had no doubt it was Bailey getting the boot.  After reading about her dissing Anya in the QF last week (I hadn't seen it, as I was out of the room for a little bit), once she screwed up, I rooted for her to be the one to go.

 

When they all went back after judges table and started toasting Bailey, I knew she was gone. They were giving her her send-off.

Having to buy sabotage ingredients for the other team actually seemed pretty fun-- they were having a good time with it. They had to find some way to make a segment for that credit card that is sponsoring them.

I would have got stuff they couldn't pick off of-- like pizza or lasagna which is actually a bunch of different ingredients. I would have picked stuff with one strong flavor-- like fish sauce, anchovies, maybe canned smoked oysters (which Tom hates). Tripe would have been amazing, but it's expensive.

 

2 hours ago, buttersister said:

As predicted, bye, Baily (at least for now). She caught my attention when, explaining that her food was Italian/Asian, she had cooked at Parachute. Co-owner and chef at Parachute was Beverly Kim, who we will remember as a target of that season’s mean girls, starring Bailey’s boss, Sarah Gruenberg.

Beverly and her husband closed Parachute (they have another place), so I guess Bailey went from there to Sarah’s place, Monteverde, where I think she is currently.

Yes, I just read that Top Chef, where they used to use audition tapes, now really relies on word-of-mouth recommendations from previous contestants and other chefs they know and their own recruiting from meeting chefs at different events. There is another chef on there that works with a past Top Chef contestant this season. 

[Bastet]

57 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

I would have picked stuff with one strong flavor-- like fish sauce, anchovies, maybe canned smoked oysters (which Tom hates)

There's an outtake from this episode where someone suggests giving the other team okra because Tom hates it.

[Fukui San]

What’s with the extremely truncated judges feedback sections this year? I wanted to see them tell Corwin “you got lucky this week, buddy” and Anya about how much they loved her dish despite being on the losing team.  

Thoughts on sabotage ingredients: stinky as hell: durian. Takes forever to prep: chicken feet. Certain cuts of beef. Tripe? Totally unknown: go to whatever cuisine that is most unknown to you and get a jar or bag of stuff, hopefully in a language they don’t know.  Changes the mood: the hottest pepper possible.  Artificial and bad: pop tart.  

[Tango64]

For those who were also curious, my internet search returned an AI response that says “Pinecone jam, made from young, immature pine cones in a sugary syrup, tastes like a sweet, slightly resinous, and piney syrup with a chewy, almost candy-like texture.”

They’re actual little pine cones and the taste is “foresty.” It’s available on Amazon for $19.99. 

[ProudMary]

Buh-bye Bailey. I'm glad she was eliminated mainly because she really ticked me off last week by negating Anya's contribution to their team in the QF.

I like Anya very much. Her cooking style and talent are bringing something new to the table each week. Her description of her early memories going to forested areas outside of Moscow to tap birch trees for sap because food was so scarce that they had to fill in gaps by foraging, was a chilling view of life under authoritarianism.

I didn't enjoy the twist of the opposing teams getting to purchase ingredients to potentially sabotage each other. Just let them cook. Twists like that are gimmicky and do nothing to improve the epidode. Just my opinion, of course.

[hula-la]

Speaking of pine, Food and Wine, the magazine that sponsors the show, has a recipe for a pine needle Paloma in its current edition. Now to hunt down some local pine!

[Jodithgrace]

In The Hunger Games, Katniss makes tea from pine needles. It all sounds unappealing to me, I’m afraid. I’m also not a big fan of maple, so the thought of a brunch where every course is maple infused did not thrill me. Some of the food did look mighty tasty, though. 

[bravofan27]

That brunch meal was just way way way too much sweet. There needed to be some fruit or something light-- it was just sugar, on fat, on carbs. The tartars would have been a good way to include some greens. I know it's brunch, but a nice salad with maple-mustard dressing would have been a good relief. Maybe some granola made with maple syrup and a yogurt? I don't know. I'm too basic.

I'm weirdly in love with both Maximo and Anya. Where I think Maximo would break my heart with love crumbles, Anya would be a solid partner. 

I'm a married heterosexual BTW. 

[Lovecat]

MASSimo's ongoing struggle with volume control makes me laugh, as does his declaration that cheese curds are called "fromage squeak-squeak" in Québec!  AND he's a yogi!  

Edited Monday at 02:58 PM by Lovecat
It is important to spell names correctly!

[Fukui San]

Instead of Hot Yoga Maximo is pioneering a new discipline: Loud Yoga.

[Thumper]

Poutine has always sounded disgusting to me.  I do love me some good hot cheese curds, though. 

[kirklandia]

4 hours ago, hula-la said:

Speaking of pine, Food and Wine, the magazine that sponsors the show, has a recipe for a pine needle Paloma in its current edition. Now to hunt down some local pine!

My only experience with culinary applications of conifer is in the adult beverage sector. Here's a photo of a couple of holiday bottles from a few years back. Locally crafted with locally sourced ingredients. We are the Evergreen State!

[Taeolas]

Loved this episode. Anya and Maximo are my two favorites so far. Anya because it's great seeing her Russian history in a good (but somewhat sad) light, and she seems to be bringing something I haven't seen often in other cooking shows. Plus Russian cuisine seems to have a lot of similar aspects to Canadian cuisine so it's working well for her. 

Maximo's loudness should be annoying, but he's just so gregarious and happy, it comes across as a big goofy dog and not something as annoying. 

I was worried for him in the Elimination challenge since they complained how his steak and eggs were missing the maple flavour; but I should have realized he was safe. 

The souffle was quite the risk; glad to see it worked out so well.

The Poutine challenge was great. You could see the poutine foundation in most of the dishes, but damn, I wanted to try most of them too. 14 of them in a row was a lot but that's what you expect this early in the season. 

And I think that's part of the reason so much of the judge critique is getting cut; there's just too many people and too many dishes to show in each ep that something has to be cut. This early on they really need 2 hours to really stretch out, but we get what we get. I'm sure there's a lot of critique we aren't seeing since that boost/tear down is an important part of the competition. 

 

Looking forward to next week in any case.

 

[ProudMary]

As info, here is the BravoTV profile of Chef Massimo Piedimonte.

https://www.bravotv.com/people/massimo-piedimonte

[Quilt Fairy]

6 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

In The Hunger Games, Katniss makes tea from pine needles.

On a lot of survivalist shows from about 10-15 years ago, pine needle tea was common.  It's apparently high in Vitamin C. 

I, too, would have liked some judges' table praise of Anya, considering her dish had some of the best comments of the entire challenge. 

[Taeolas]

12 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

As info, here is the BravoTV profile of Chef Massimo Piedimonte.

https://www.bravotv.com/people/massimo-piedimonte

I think I saw someone earlier in this thread call him Maximo, and I like that nickname enough to run with it. :) 

And I'm not just liking him because he's a hometown (or home country) chef too. 

[Rai]

Wow, Daniel Boulud actually unleashed some snark this episode! Calling Vincenzo a brown-noser for the souffle? Catty! It's a good thing it came out well.

Buying sabotage ingredients felt a little Chopped-esque to be honest, but they were pretty good sports about it, and I do like creativity in working with weirdo things. I also am a fan of Massimo, all in, and hope he sticks around for a while. Anya too! My sister in unfortunate Russian background (although mine is more removed than hers).

Bailey's attitude rubbed me the wrong way even though I try not to bag on contestants unnecessarily. She just gives off this air of being too cool for school, and you're in a competition, and you haven't done great so far, so maybe take it more seriously? Also, maple AND honey? That's unnecessary. I didn't mind her leaving, but Corwin better thank his lucky stars.

I also like Henry so far, even more now that I know he works with Evelyn Garcia, and I hope he gets his act together.

Lastly, stop with the supershort judges' table. Some suspense would be great! That's all.

[bravofan27]

5 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Maximo's ongoing struggle with volume control makes me laugh, as does his declaration that cheese curds are called "fromage squeak-squeak" in Québec!  AND he's a yogi!  

He's perfect. No matter where he is from or where he lives.

Massimo calls himself "Maximum" so I call him Maximo. hehe. 

With this challenge, it was really about how to use the "right" amount of maple syrup, so you taste it, but it's not cloying. 

Edited March 22 by bravofan27

[bravofan27]

24 minutes ago, Rai said:

Lastly, stop with the supershort judges' table. Some suspense would be great! That's all.

I know! Now that they don't show the chef's outside the show, commiserating, partying, or gossiping, they should have more time. I think this episode; they did a lot of the judges table there at the dining table. It might be a different style with Kristin-- Padma always took the conversations after dinner to the judges table, where Kristin talks about it as soon as they are done eating. 

[gorgy]

Glad they got the most expected QuickFire out of the way early. One guy did admit to practicing since he knew they were going to Canada, but I would hope they all did at some point. I'll take an Irish spice bag over a poutine as a late night drunk snack anytime, but it's not about me.

I have next to no sweet tooth, so if I had to judge 14 dishes flavored with maple syrup, I'd be as annoyed as Tom and his disdain for brunch. A lot of the dishes did look good, especially Massimo (I think that's his name) with his steak and eggs, and I'm not even a big meat eater. Wow! it just so happens Daniel Boulud gets the steamed dish that had the plastic wrap still on it, even thought the chefs made 30 portions. I'm sure producers had nothing to do with the judges receiving the worst one ;)

There just doesn't seem to be any extended discussion anymore about who should pack their knives and it used to be my favorite part where they'd argue about who is going home. The drama is non-existent, the stew room tension is lost, and it's all a little too clean. Bailey is gone and I was just beginning to be annoyed with her monotonous voice, so it's just in time. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

1 hour ago, bravofan27 said:

I know! Now that they don't show the chef's outside the show, commiserating, partying, or gossiping, they should have more time. I think this episode; they did a lot of the judges table there at the dining table. It might be a different style with Kristin-- Padma always took the conversations after dinner to the judges table, where Kristin talks about it as soon as they are done eating. 

Maybe once they cut down the number of chefs they'll show more outside of the studio, and more discussions too.   

I really enjoyed this episode, except for the sabotage part.   

[bravofan27]

I'm watching Season 5 where they are in Chicago. Great fun season. Sort of takes me back to more innocent times. Padma is so young and shy, Tom is exactly the same (he makes the show) and Anthony Bourdain is a guest judge and no one really is that impressed with him as a judge-- he didn't have the same respect as he did in his later career. 

All said, Richard Blaise made a dish and SERVED it with the plastic wrap on, so when it was removed, they could smell the steam. And Tom said that everyone should know how to make a souffle. And they grilled the "losing" group hard at judges table, and THEN made their decision. The chefs were more green-- now they have elite chefs that have a different level of skill and confidence and experience. 

But mostly, I think having all the money prizes means they need sponsors, which means a lot of time in the show is spent on highlighting their sponsors' product/service. In the early seasons, there were no tangible or money prizes. 

Edited March 22 by bravofan27

[Trey]

I don't have all the contestants sorted out yet but I was sure I recognized Kat Turner from Chopped. Turns out she was in the Chopped Legends series, on Chris Santos' team.

I like this group of contestants - nobody stands out as an annoying asshole, although it's early - somebody may step up for the position.

 

 

[snarktini]

I would have hated this meal! Like Tom, I do not like brunch plus a little maple goes a loooong way. Preferably on its own as candy or very lightly on a sweet breakfast -- absolutely never paired with savory items. I went on a food tour in Quebec last year and couldn't escape the maple! On mushrooms, on duck, everywhere. Blech.

The lasagna was a good wrench, a challenge to incorporate but not mean. Picking multiple difficult items, especially that candy, was mean. (At heart I am a softie. I want everything to be collaborative and friendly like GBBO; no twists, just cook.)

 

 

[Yeah No]

Glad to see my fascination for Massimo is not just me. 😉

Agreed about the truncated judging. The judging is one of the best parts of the show so it's missed. But I think I felt that way last season too although it's even worse so far this time. Maybe as people get eliminated they'll show more of it? We can hope.

Also agreed about Bailey. She already rubbed me the wrong way. 

And Anya - I really like her so far.

As to the "whammy" ingredients, not a fan but at least they didn't seem to cause too much trouble. I wonder if their choice of ingredients was limited because of where they were shopping.

Speaking of smoked oysters, I was wondering why no one did anything smoked because smoky maple anything is good if done right. Like smoky maple bacon.

Poutine is not one of my favorite dishes but I liked some of the creative twists the chefs put on it. My husband and I were thinking of several of our own. 

I somehow had confidence that Vincenzo knew what he was doing by making a souffle. At least his confidence is not off-putting.

Interestingly tonight we went out to dinner and I had a black sea bass with a hint of maple/saffron that was out of this world. I wondered if the chef was inspired by this episode.

Thank you, @bravofan27, for the Season 5 refresher.

And @susannot, I too once ate a memorable meal at Cafe Boulud. 

 

[rhofmovalley]

On 3/21/2025 at 5:10 PM, ProudMary said:

As info, here is the BravoTV profile of Chef Massimo Piedimonte.

https://www.bravotv.com/people/massimo-piedimonte

Thank you!  I was confused why people kept referring to him as "Maximo" and thought I must have missed something. 

[JoyousSpring]

I'm rooting for Henry.  I hope he gets it together. I loved the fish sauce and lime spray he used and it sounds like he and Evelyn have a happy kitchen!

[Fostersmom]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also agreed about Bailey. She already rubbed me the wrong way. 

And Anya - I really like her so far.

As to the "whammy" ingredients, not a fan but at least they didn't seem to cause too much trouble. I wonder if their choice of ingredients was limited because of where they were shopping.

 

I won't miss Bailey, she came across as very insincere, like she was putting on a rehearsed performance. Her upspeak was also very annoying. 

I'm liking Anya a lot, I have a feeling she's going to be a dark horse. I want to see what she can make  when they aren't on teams or locked into a specific theme. I also like Kat, although I don't think she's going to make it far, and Katianna. None of the men are really impressing me quite yet. And yeah, I don't picture Whole Foods as having a big selection of truly "whammy" foods. I don't shop there, but I'm not picturing them having total crap food like flaming hot jalapeño Cheetos or grape Fanta. The prepared lasagna or slice of pizza were actually pretty good choices. Trying to incorporate prepared foods into other dishes can't be easy. 

 

[Taeolas]

The Whammy ingredients weren't from Whole Foods. They went to St Lawrence Market with 50$ (CAD I assume) to shop with. I'm not from Toronto but it looks like a Farmers Market basically, so they should have a decent selection of things to buy, but maybe not the whammiest of ingredients. 

[ILuvShibaInus]

Having to incorporate a "whammy" ingredient was so Chopped-like.

Someone should have picked Durian (a Chopped favorite) but maybe that market did not have it. And any Chopped viewer knows that when given candy, the chefs just make a sauce out of it so it's really not a sabotage ingredient. 

[Lovecat]

On 3/21/2025 at 8:10 PM, ProudMary said:

As info, here is the BravoTV profile of Chef Massimo Piedimonte.

https://www.bravotv.com/people/massimo-piedimonte

I think I may have been the perpetrator of the "Maximo" misspelling, mea culpa!  Next up:  distinguishing Kat from Katianna and sorting out all the bald guys ;)

[marke34]

On 3/21/2025 at 1:17 PM, ProudMary said:

I like Anya very much. Her cooking style and talent are bringing something new to the table each week. Her description of her early memories going to forested areas outside of Moscow to tap birch trees for sap because food was so scarce that they had to fill in gaps by foraging, was a chilling view of life under authoritarianism.

I pegged Vinny, Shuai, and Anya as the emergent front runners back at the episode 1 thread of this season.  Glad to see that my prediction is actually pretty much true right now, all 3 of them are really killing it.

Edited Tuesday at 04:27 AM by marke34