The Jet Stream: Death by single-edged sushi knife

Jet Tila

Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 | 6:08 p.m.

This week marks the first of three guest judge appearances by Wynn chefs. Daniel Boulud is, of course, not just a Wynn chef, but also a man of many hats: He has his own restaurant empire and is a true industry legend.

The Escargot Quickfire was brilliant and really set the tone for a classic French episode of TC. Adding to the excitement, it turned into an elimination Quickfire. Brutal! So, what would I have done for this week’s Quickfire challenge? I personally love the combination of garlic, escargot and crusty bread and would have done a crostini, like Mattin. But his combo of fava bean puree and escargot? That was a moment of greatness—I’m still salivating just thinking about it!

Jesse, whom I’ve dubbed Miss Path of Least Resistance, has again lived up to said moniker. ELT? For real? Escargot, (Mache) Lettuce, and Tomato: I can’t really fathom what she was thinking. Daniel asks, “What was your inspiration?” And she says…wait for it… “I have no idea.” Well, it is indeed obvious you had no idea, ma’am. It was definitely time for Jesse to go; I think this competition was just too big for her. This is the most talented group in the history of the show, in my humble opinion.

As predicted, Kevin won the Quickfire with his Escargot fricassee with mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and candied bacon jam. His triumph was overdue—he is definitely the dark horse in this competition with his classical French backbone and a knack for good ol’ American cuisine. And to win not only immunity, but also a place at the table with the likes of Robuchon, Boulud, Keller and Toroundel? Those Top Chef producers really thought this award through!

The chef’testants started at DB Brasserie and finished at Robuchon: I think these chefs are going to look back on these two days rather fondly.

Daniel Boulud is lovingly known to many as “DB,” but those two letters together also serve as the acronym many use when describing someone that is not very nice or cool. Catch my drift? So for this episode, my “DB” award goes to…Michael Isabella! Congrats dude, I bestow you the honor of the first “DB” award for riding the coattails of Bryan V. First off, you’ve never made Béarnaise and happily admitted this fact repeatedly on camera. Then, in front of the judges, you totally took credit for coming up with the deconstructed Béarnaise. You were so lucky to have Bryan as your teammate. Actually, Jaba the Hut could have been his partner and still sailed through this elimination challenge, even with his tiny T-rex arms and inability to walk. Mike, you had it too good, but you will be discovered very soon for being a shoemaker. (Note: Shoemaker is how chefs refer to other chefs that are skilled in the art of faking).

When all was said and done, it was time to say “adios” to Hector. I didn’t think it was his time, but his mistakes were pretty unforgivable. Was I the only one who noticed that…

A. When he was taking the temperature of his beef, he slid the thermometer all the way through the meat so the probe wasn’t taking the right temp? When doing so, one should slide it in so the tip of the probe is in the center of the meat. Homeboy was basically taking the air temp on the other side of the tenderloin!

B. He used a single-edged sushi knife to saw the tenderloin. Painful! These knives have a one-sided edge to get a perfect slice (if used properly), but he sawed back and forth, butchering the poor muscle of the beast. When using a single-edged sushi knife, one arching slice is perfect for getting a great cut.

When Tom said, “Any cook that works a buffet can carve (meat) better than that,” ouch! That really hurt. After such an extreme comment, it might take some time for Hector to show his face again.

And the winner of the evening was…Bryan V.! Mike V. didn’t look happy to lose to his brother again. Man, it’s getting ugly between the siblings. Let’s hope for the sake of quality TV programming that this will either come to a head or they’ll hug it out, Ari Gold-style.

Another strong episode for Top Chef. The A-team of Jen and The V Brothers is head-and-shoulders above the rest. I’m still looking at Kevin and Eli as the sleepers here, but I’m ready for the rest to go away in the coming weeks.

My predictions for next week: Eli for the Quickfire, Robin to go home and one of the aforementioned A-team to take the win.