The Challenges, the Good, the Bad, the Ugly: What would you like to see?

[LeighLeigh]

A fun challenge on season 3 of Top Chef Canada was when the remaining chefs had to plan a menu for the host’s bridal shower. Each course had to represent the different cities she lived in (Mumbai, somewhere in California, etc.). Anyway, as the executive chef introduces himself to the guests, he is told that someone has a seafood allergy and two guests are vegan! The behind the scenes chaos to accommodate the vegan made me laugh. Seeing them adapt to the last minute curveballs made for good viewing. 

[Fukui San]

I had a challenge idea I'd like to see, so I exhumed this thread from page 4.

An early season Elimination Challenge. Maybe the third or fourth week. Gail comes in to help explain the challenge. It's Tom's birthday tomorrow (or whatever), and Top Chef is throwing him a surprise party! Dishes will be served blind inside gift boxes, and the chefs can quiz Gail as to Tom's likes and dislikes. The chefs go shopping, and they get ready for the next day's cook.

At the beginning of the cook, Kristen comes in and says that since the theme of the party is Surprise Party, they thought that the element of surprise should be a bigger part of the process. Chefs draw knives and are randomly assigned another chef's ingredients, and then they have to adjust on the fly to cook a dish with someone else's ingredients. None of the judges know who made which dish.

That's probably enough twists for one challenge, though a cookoff for the bottom chefs with ingredients of their choice could be an option.