'Top Chef' stars face 'make or break moment' with Restaurant Wars, but personal loss left judges in tears
Things took a dramatic turn this week in Top Chef Season 22. Both in the competition and an unexpected update from home for one chef.
The guest judges this week were Top Chef Season 11 finalist Nina Compton, chef and owner of Compère Lapin in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Top Chef Canada judge, and CEO and founder of Gusto 54 restaurant group, Janet Zuccarini. They were there to reveal the Restaurant Wars Elimination Challenge, the "make or break moment" for a lot of Top Chef contestants, as host and former contestant Kristen Kish highlighted.
In teams, the chefs had to create their own restaurant concept in just 24 hours, a three-course menu with two options per course. Team 1 was Shuai, César, Bailey and Paula, and Team 2 was Lana, Vinny, Massimo and Tristen. The winning team received $40,000.
For Team 1, there was consensus to do family style Latin-Italian "grandma" restaurant called Nonna Pipón. And the team seemed to all be on the same page when setting up the restaurant and developing the menu.
Tristen, who had immunity from the previous challenge, took the role of executive chef for Team 2, coming up with the idea to a vegetable-forward menu, even though Massimo didn't seem to be on board. Generally speaking, it was clear that there were more tensions in Team 2, from the menu creation to choosing the decor and tableware for their restaurant, which they called Phlora + Phauna.
But a sad turn in the competition came when Tristen was told from production that he got a call from home that there was a family emergency. Tristen's step-father had a stroke and was put in an induced coma, but his mom said he wouldn't want Tristen to leave, so he returned to the competition. Then Tristen shared that his step-father died that night.
"When somebody believes in you that much, you don't want to let them down," Tristen said. "And so I did not want to disrespect my family by giving up."
The dishes each chef created, and judges feedback, were as follows:
Nonna Pipón
Bailey — Chipotle chorizo arancini with tonnato aioli — Nina highlighted that the breading wasn't too heavy, Gail Simmons said the chorizo was a really powerful flavour
Shuai — Frutti di mare with aguachile and chicharrón — Tom Colicchio identified that the seafood was bland
César — Ancho braised short rib with polenta, ricotta salata and roasted apples — Nina said the short rib had a lot of flavour, but the consistency of the polenta was "off-putting"
Bailey — Cannelloni al forno with toasted pepitas and almond romesco — Tom wanted the sauce to be smoother and Gail added that she had full almonds in her dish
Paula — Torta di noci with tres leches — Nina said it was too dense
César — Churros with pistachio crème anglaise — Nina said it was dry, Kristen added it was the consistency of a biscuit
For Nonna Pipón, the judges wanted Shuai to do more to greet them and explain the food, taking on the role as front of house. And Janet noted that the table was missing sharing utensils to serve the family style food.
Phlora + Phauna
Lana — Cured and smoked trout with potlikker consommé — Nina enjoyed the broth but didn't like raw greens, Kristen added that the consommé was "beautiful"
Tristen — Grilled mushroom escovitch with Canadian bay scallop, ajo blanco and dawadawa — Janet highlighted that it was subtle and light, but also rich and savoury, and Tom said he saw Tristen's "finesse"
Lana — Potato celery root and truffle pithivier with lamb jus — Kristen commended the chef's technical work, but Tom said the dough could have been cooked more
Vinny — Butternut squash confit with grilled pork and XO sauce — Nina said the pork was perfectly cooked and the squash was excellent
Massimo — Corn crémeux with corn ice cream, grilled blueberry condiment and blueberry crisp — Kristen stressed that it was "stunning" and Janet said the corn was "perfectly made"
Tristen — Milk chocolate custard with "dirt" chocolate and caramelized parsnip — Nina said it was very decadent, Gail said it was very balanced
For Phlora + Phauna, Janet wanted to see Massimo's service more "refined," instead of kneeling and leaning on the table of the guests. The judges also criticized him hovering around their table. But they enjoyed that each chef introduced their dish.
Phlora + Phauna was the favourite restaurant, leaving Nonna Pipón up for elimination, and Paula was eliminated.
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