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S22.E07: You Wanna Pizza Me?

ProudMary

By ProudMary
in Top Chef

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ProudMary

ProudMary

Airdate: Thursday, April 24, 2025

Synopsis:

For this week's Quickfire Challenge, the chefs must create a dish with an ingredient using only the toughest stains as their clues. Then, in a high-stakes pizza party, the chefs must create pies that are outside of the box to impress guest judges Michelin star chef Wylie Dufresne and Top Chef All-Star alum Spike Mendelsohn, who join Kristen, Tom and Gail at the judges' table.


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bravofan27

bravofan27

I LOVE Hawaiin pizza. Pineapple and savory just is so delicious. I love the juiciness of the pineapple with cheese and ham. Yummy. I also LOVE taco pizza. If you haven't had it, it's worth a trip to Iowa! I recommended it to my then boyfriend and his family when I lived in Iowa, and they all agreed it was awesome. They franchise in other places now (and weirdly Egypt) but Iowa is where I recommend buying a pie.

https://heavytable.com/the-taco-pizza-at-happy-joes/

The stained dirty dishes was a little gross. Too much of an ick factor for me, but way to promote the detergent. Uhg Geez. Every season they have a litany of new and returning sponsors to promote.

 

 

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Bastet

Bastet

Duh, Bailey, in a challenge about the ten things most likely to stick to the dishes, the green one is going to be avocado based, not pesto. 

Good on Tristen telling Vinny to flex his food, not someone else's.

Spike and Wylie both bug me, but not as much tonight as they usually do, so that was a relief.

I eat a lot of non-traditional pizzas, so I enjoyed seeing what everyone came up with.  I most wanted Tristen's, so I'm glad he won, but Shuai's looked really good to me, too.  I would have liked Massimo's (after picking off the potatoes, which I hate) more than Vinny's, I'm sure, as I love seafood pizza but am not into ruebens, so I'd have had a different top three.

Cesar's didn't sound good to me at all, but Henry would have been my elimination pick, too, because it wasn't a pizza, it was a rice bowl without the bowl.

I'm with most of the cheftestants on their "ugh" about Hawaiian pizza, and with the judges saying nay to Chicago deep dish.

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Pandora

Pandora

  • Popular Post
8 minutes ago, buttersister said:

I'll pass on many of those pizzas, but Tristen! His food has an intellect and a lot of emotion. I really hope he takes top.

eta: Feeling good about RW, Tristen has immunity!

I’m rooting big for Tristen because he finally, mercifully, told Vinny to shut up about Nomad and cook his own food.

 

 

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marke34

marke34

(edited)
1 hour ago, Tess23 said:

If it's not Tristen and Katiana in the finals, I'm going to be disappointed.

Out of curiosity, who do you want your 3rd finalist to be along with Katianna? I want Cesar along with those 2, both Tristen, and Cesar seem to be the most creative chefs left in the competition IMO, despite Cesar's rollercoaster-like performance.

Edited by marke34
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Fukui San

Fukui San

Had to think for a bit what I might try to do for this challenge. I settled on a clam chowder inspired pizza, as all of the main ingredients are things I’ve seen on pizzas: clams, bacon potatoes. Make a sourdough crust and half white sauce and half tomato sauce to offer New England and Manhattan varieties.  
 

Too bad about Henry but he made a lot of mistakes this week.  

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dleighg

dleighg

12 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

The stained dirty dishes was a little gross. Too much of an ick factor for me, but way to promote the detergent. Uhg Geez.

That was heavy handed wasn't it! They even showed Kristen loading the dishwasher. The icing on the cake would have been to unload the DW after the QF and show how all the dishes were sparkling clean!

Henri deserved to go; I mean of all the things to screw up, you leave half your flour at the store? And besides that, it seemed he killed the yeast in the dough he did make. 

I was interested to hear Massimo about how to get the big bubbles (which the judges remarked upon). A local pizza place to me has crust like that, which I love. And in this small burb town in a corner of the county he just won best pizza of the lower Hudson valley.

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Lovecat

Lovecat

20 minutes ago, dleighg said:

That was heavy handed wasn't it! They even showed Kristen loading the dishwasher. The icing on the cake would have been to unload the DW after the QF and show how all the dishes were sparkling clean!

 

My attention drifted for a minute and when I snapped back into it, I thought they were going to use an express load in the dishwasher as the "timer" for the challenge!  That might have been more time than they generally give for a QuickFile, but it would have been a great ad for Finish.

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meep.meep

meep.meep

13 hours ago, Bastet said:

 

I'm with most of the cheftestants on their "ugh" about Hawaiian pizza, and with the judges saying nay to Chicago deep dish.

Of course in the Chicago season, the first elimination challenge was to make Deep Dish pizza.  When two thirds of the judges are the same people, I take their attitude with a grain of salt.  I assume that is why they kept emphasizing that this was "a Pizza Party!" which they have never ever done before.

Just like pickles, Canada is so known for their pizza!  Whoever manufactured the pizza ovens should have been the sponsor, not the detergent.

At least Tristan has immunity for Restaurant Wars.

  • Like 2
The Solution

The Solution

These chefs just amaze me this season. They keep getting these ridiculous challenges and making dishes that I would love to eat - even the misfires. Most of them seem like decent people too - Lana deserved to stay just for freely offering up her extra flour to Henry. I woulda been all over that reuben pizza and I'm only now at my advanced age starting to explore beyond pizza napolitan'.

Spike was always one of my favorite cheftestants. Nice to see him again. Man! Did he get old!

16 hours ago, marke34 said:

How does Bailey, a chef who specializes in Italian food, and is from Chicago not know how to make pizza?

Because she's such a freaking poseur! Yet one more of my reasons for loathing her.

14 hours ago, marke34 said:

Out of curiosity, who do you want your 3rd finalist to be along with Katianna? I want Cesar along with those 2, both Tristen, and Cesar seem to be the most creative chefs left in the competition IMO, despite Cesar's rollercoaster-like performance.

I vote for Cesar, although I would choose to shag Lana (Andy Cohen reference).

  • Like 4
MerBearHou

MerBearHou

(edited)

Just now able to see the episode.  First takeaway is how much better Wylie and Spike look than they did when they were younger.  Like lots better.

Henry’s miss of not buying flour did him in — the pivot to sushi pizza with barely crispy rice as a crust just didn’t produce anything that could be eaten like a pizza.  He was forced to scramble to a Plan B but it did not work.  He’s local to Houston (as is Tristen) and I really like Henry — sorry to see him go, but it was absolutely the right call.  

The scene of them getting just pounded by water at Niagara Falls was actually pretty amusing — don’t think they expected that!!  

Cesar’s conversation with his mom — so sweet.

I love Lana’s personality.  Ditto Tristen — he is a delight both personally and as a chef and he handled that friendly advice to Vinny in the best way I can imagine.  He was such a friend to Vinny to say that.

Edited by MerBearHou
  • Like 13
Mellowyellow

Mellowyellow

7 hours ago, The Solution said:

Lana deserved to stay just for freely offering up her extra flour to Henry.

Lana is so lovely and effortlessly gorgeous at the same time! I’m smitten 😍

 The chefs I like this season, I REALLY like to the point where I’m kinda stressed that they’ll go home (Tristen, Cesar, Lana). And then there are some who I really want to go home. Makes for a stressful viewing season!

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Ancaster

Ancaster

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

Just now able to see the episode.  First takeaway is how much better Wylie and Spike look than they did when they were younger.  Like lots better.

Henry’s miss of not buying flour did him in — the pivot to sushi pizza with barely crispy rice as a crust just didn’t produce anything that could be eaten like a pizza.  He was forced to scramble to a Plan B but it did not work.  He’s local to Houston (as is Tristen) and I really like Henry — sorry to see him go, but it was absolutely the right call.  

 

I couldn't bear to watch when Wylie Dufresne had that appalling, lank, greasy bob.  Now I actually quite like him.

I don't really understand the Henry flour situation.  He said he bought some, just not enough, and then Lana (?) gave him a bunch more.  Why did he then try to do something with rice that was obviously disastrous?  Was he the one whose dough didn't rise properly?  He would have been better off cooking small flatbreads with great flavour  rather than what he did.

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mlp

mlp

3 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

First takeaway is how much better Wylie and Spike look than they did when they were younger.  Like lots better.

Me too.  Wylie has looked much better ever since he got a normal haircut.  I didn't even recognize Spike at first.  Looking at him (and Fabio on TOC) reminded me of how many years have passed since their TC seasons.  Yike.

I liked Henry and I was sorry to see him go but not surprised.  The other pizzas on the bottom were bad but at least they were recognizable as pizza.  Henry's just wasn't.

Pineapple on pizza has become sort of a joke but I like it with pepperoni once in awhile.  Shrug.  I had no idea it originated in Canada.

I grew up in Buffalo and went back once or twice a year while my mother was alive so I've been to Niagara Falls umpteen times.  The Canadian side is much nicer than the US side.  It's too bad the cast didn't have better weather.  If you take the boat trip, you get wet from the spray but nothing like what they experienced.

  • Like 6
Norma Desmond

Norma Desmond

(edited)

I love Henry. Poor guy, he never caught a break on the show, did he? He’s one of those chefs who struggles to handle the intense pressure of the competition. I’m rooting for him to win Last Chance Kitchen and make a comeback.

I must say, Massimo really grew on me. He's kind of my favorite now, though I don't think he has a chance at winning.

Tristen is the clear frontrunner and only an epic disaster could stop him from claiming the title.

Edited by Norma Desmond
  • Like 3
dleighg

dleighg

7 hours ago, Ancaster said:

I don't really understand the Henry flour situation.  He said he bought some, just not enough, and then Lana (?) gave him a bunch more.  Why did he then try to do something with rice that was obviously disastrous?

I believe he only ended up with one bag of flour, not the two bags that he wanted. One was left in the cart. Then Lana gave him the small amount that was left on her bench; not much at all. THEN he apparently killed his yeast, as the next morning his dough hadn't risen. That's when he gave up on flour.

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Ancaster

Ancaster

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I believe he only ended up with one bag of flour, not the two bags that he wanted. One was left in the cart. Then Lana gave him the small amount that was left on her bench; not much at all. THEN he apparently killed his yeast, as the next morning his dough hadn't risen. That's when he gave up on flour.

Thanks.  That was my understanding (though I thought he got more from Lana).  I still wish he had used the unrisen flour-based dough as a flat bread, but that's easy to say from the comfort of my couch.  He wasn't the first and certainly won't be last to make a bad decision.  I suspect once he realised he'd left some of his flour behind he couldn't think rationally.

@Norma Desmond I'd be a bit surprised if he beats the current LCK winner - they're formidable and I think he's too all over the place.  I guess we'll see!

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bravofan27

bravofan27

(edited)

Maybe Henry got overconfident because of his QF win? Who knows. Rice does get crispy on the bottom and it could have been cool if it worked. Not sure why they talked about Hawaiian pizza given no one had to make it-- maybe just trying to tie in a pizza theme somehow? It would have been cool if they had to incorporate a fruit on their pizza or something. 

Maximo would have been in top three if his potatoes weren't raw. Tom mentioned they "needed oil" which was his way of saying, "rookie mistake." But he did have the best crust, he nailed that technical difficulty.

Vinny is growing on me. He always puts something cutesy in his dishes, like the pickle on his Reuben pizza. 

I like wet pizza. There was no rule it had to be hand held (Paula).

My favorite pizza is the deep dish (Chicago) and then super thin and crunchy (no yeast) Detroit style. Go figure. 

The only pizza that looked good to me (and sounded good based on judge comments) was Lana's and Maximo's pies. 

Anchovy ranch is just not a flavor combo I would enjoy. And adding lamb seems a little too inventive. I do like the grapes on it though!

Random, but Tom has always looked like Freddie Krueger to me. I just can't take him seriously.

They have to serve 70 diners, but how many pizzas did they have to make? I was thinking they needed 70 at first. Did they make one pizza for the judge table? 

 

Edited by bravofan27
Forgot to add what pizzas I liked!
  • Like 1
Souris

Souris

(edited)

Henry has been kind of hapless all season, but at least he had one $10,000 moment of glory.

If something happens and Tristen doesn't win, I'm going to be sad. He is such the clear frontrunner, I'm getting paranoid for fear they wouldn't telegraph his win this much! Though that did happen with Buddha's season....

Coffee salmon? Just no.

Massimo sure was put out he wasn't in the top of the pizza challenge.

Agree the dirty dish concept was icky.

I'm very frustrated and disappointed with the lack of field trips this season. Such a waste of being in another country for the first regular season! I don't feel the local vibe the way we have in previous seasons. Niagara Falls is the most cliche outing they could do.

Extra perplexing given Gail is Canadian.

Edited by Souris
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caitmcg

caitmcg

57 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

Not sure why they talked about Hawaiian pizza given no one had to make it

The Hawaiian pizza discussion was just a way of tenuously tying the theme to locale, since apparently Hawaiian pizza is a Canadian invention.

57 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

And adding lamb seems a little too inventive. 

But he wasn't really being inventive; as he stated, he was doing a pizza-fied spin on lahmacun, which is a traditional flatbread topped with minced lamb or beef.

  • Like 4
Taeolas

Taeolas

(edited)
On 4/26/2025 at 5:34 PM, dleighg said:

well Niagara Falls is about 2 hours from Toronto. (I thought it was even farther). But I know what you mean. So many cool places in Canada. Are they going to the maritimes this season?

 

Spoiler

The locations were in the initial promos for the season. I can't remember where exactly but I think they're going out west eventually, and then back east (Montreal?) and finally wrapping up in Charlottetown (That part I remember for certain because I'm a maritimer and was surprised/impressed they'd go there :) ).

 

 

I think they're waiting for the crowd to shrink down before doing their big travel, since they're using the redecorated Top Chef Canada kitchen currently, which is big enough for a dozen chefs at once. 

 

After next week's restaurant wars I wouldn't be surprised if they start travelling from there. That's likely when the group will be small enough to fit into smaller studio kitchens. 

 

As for Hawaiian pizza, I don't care for it myself. I love ham, but not a fan of pineapple in general. And yes, it was created in Ontario, I think in London or Mississagua, somewhere close to Toronto in any case (by a greek immigrant as the show pointed out) 

It seems Canada has a long habit of naming things after American things. Hawaian Pizza, Boston Pizza restaurant chain, New York Fries restaurant chain,  Montana's Restaurant chain, etc.... :) 

Edited by Taeolas
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ProudMary

ProudMary

  • Author

@Taeolas It doesn't matter to me personally as I'd already searched the additional locations where the show had been filmed, but your first paragraph is a big spoiler for anyone who doesn't want to know what's yet to come. Could you please edit your post to put that info behind spoiler tags or move it to the spoiler thread?

(Also your location info is slightly incorrect.)

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AnnieBananie

AnnieBananie

On 4/25/2025 at 10:48 AM, Lovecat said:

My attention drifted for a minute and when I snapped back into it, I thought they were going to use an express load in the dishwasher as the "timer" for the challenge!  That might have been more time than they generally give for a QuickFile, but it would have been a great ad for Finish.

I thought so too, Lovecat! That would have been really fun.

  • Like 3
heatherchandler

heatherchandler

On 4/25/2025 at 9:25 AM, dleighg said:

 

I was interested to hear Massimo about how to get the big bubbles (which the judges remarked upon). A local pizza place to me has crust like that, which I love. And in this small burb town in a corner of the county he just won best pizza of the lower Hudson valley.

It’s funny I always thought the bubbles were to be avoided!  I don’t like when my pizza has a bubble, it’s always kinda burnt in that spot.

 

On 4/25/2025 at 10:33 PM, Vermicious Knid said:

They even did a flashback with a close up of the flour sitting in his cart and the cashier asking if the celery(?), it was something green and leafy, was everything he wanted, and him saying yes. It was almost as good as the TAR editors who zoom in on a mistake while the Chimes of Doom play. 

What’s TAR?

marke34

marke34

(edited)
On 4/26/2025 at 3:29 PM, bravofan27 said:

 Maximo would have been in top three if his potatoes weren't raw. Tom mentioned they "needed oil" which was his way of saying, "rookie mistake." But he did have the best crust, he nailed that technical difficulty.

I suspect that the bigger problem with Massimo's pizza was more likely that it just wasn't thinking outside the box, or being original or creative, clam pizza is actually decently popular.  Tom didn't see clams on pizza before, which kinda goes against what I'm saying, but still.

Edited by marke34
SemiCharmedLife

SemiCharmedLife

Several of the chefs made big errors with their dough, but since Henry's didn't resemble pizza (the rice didn't crisp up enough, I guess), he was the obvious choice to PYKAG.  I wasn't drooling over any of the pizzas, though.  Either the toppings didn't appeal to me or the crust was a miss.  Looking forward to next week!

  • Like 5
bravofan27

bravofan27

The elimination challenge was to make something that “challenged our idea of what pizza could be, and that’s what we asked of you.” Yet the judges kept being weird about pizza should be and didn't refer back to the "something you keep talking about" in a way that was positive.

Vinny made a very typical reuben pizza, nothing was new there. Google "rueben pizza" and you will find many recipes pretty much exactly what he made. Nothing "new to talk about" which was the challenge. He left the pickles as spears rather than dicing them, but that was a nod to his brother (okay).

The judges started their meal talking about how important a good crust was. Maximo nailed this. Lana's pizza seemed unique with squash sauce, bbq oxtails, and plantain chips. Bailey's pizza dough was undercooked, so she was out of the running for winner, same with Cesar since his dough was pretty much universally disliked. 

Maximo's pizza looked the best to me. The clams may not have been the most inventive ingredient, but the fermented parsley paste seemed cool for a sauce. And he didn't put cheese on it. It was cool looking with the clams, and I like what he did to make the purple potatoes look like pepperoni. 

 

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