'Top Chef' Season 22 recap: Canada's history as the birthplace of Hawaiian pizza
Top Chef Season 22 takes on the great Hawaiian pizza debate, whether pineapple belongs on pizza. And with only nine chefs left in the competition, there's a lot of stress in the Canadian kitchen for the show's stars.
But before the pizza, host Kristen Kish was joined by Top Chef Canada host Eden Grinshpan to greet the chefs for their Quickfire Challenge. This week, it was all about dirty dishes.
The chef had to use stains on dishes s inspiration. The options included dried remnants of tomato sauce, meat sauce, coffee, guacamole, mac and cheese, oatmeal, egg yolks, rice and lasagna.
The winner of the challenge, Henry, received $10,00. He made glutinous rice balls filled with maple butter, toasted oats and oatmeal broth.
Moving on to the Elimination Challenge, Top Chef threw its first pizza party. Bringing on Michelin-star chef Wylie Dufresne, owner of Stretch Pizza in New York, and Top Chef All Stars alum Spike Mendelsohn, owner of We, The Pizza, for reinforcements.
Why a pizza challenge in Canada? The Hawaiian pizza was invented in the country in 1962. Additionally, the now popular sushi pizza was also invented in Canada. And the intention of the challenge for the chefs was to make an unconventional pizza for the judges.
There was a lot on the line for this Elimination Challenge, with Kristen announced that this would be the last immunity up for grabs on the season.
Taking place at Ravine Winery, in Niagara, Ont., judges Kristen, Tom Collicchio and Gail Simmons were were joined by Eden, chefs Wylie, Spike, and John Vetere, executive chef and director or Ravine Winery.
The dishes each chef created, and judges feedback, were as follows:
Shuai — Scallion pancake pizza with cumin Szechuan lamb, mozzarella and tiger salad — Wylie really enjoyed the texture of the pancake and Tom said he was smart to play to his strengths
Tristen — Lahmajun pizza with lamb, anchovy ranch and pickled grapes — Wylie like the flavour a lot, Tom liked the ranch with the pizza, and Spike said he needs to sell his anchovy ranch
Lana — Honeynut squash sauce pizza with tamarind bbq oxtails, buttermilk dressing and plantain chips — John said the crust was cooked well, but Tom said the sauce was too dry
Henry — Pho rice pizza with pho marinated brisket, herb pesto and hoisin sriracha aioli — Wylie like the flavour profile but the rice was missing crispiness, ad Kristen said he didn't lean into the pho flavour enough
César — Mole negro pizza with chicken thighs, black bean salsa and crispy chicken skin — Spike said the crust had a bitter taste from the cocoa powder and Eden said the dough was too soft
Bailey — Chicken parmesan pizza with tigele bread, chicken thigh sausage, provolone, parmesan and pecorino — Wylie pointed out that the dough was undercooked and Gail found the cornmeal too grainy
Massimo — Napoletana style pizza with fermented parsley paste, potatoes, mussels and clams — John appreciated the lightness of the crust and Spike said his style of making dough was right, but Gail said the potatoes were a little undercooked
Paula — Pineapple-braised pork pizza with caramelized onions, chimichurri and mornay sauce — Tom pointed out that the dough was too soft and there were too many toppings on the pizza
Vinny — Reuben pizza with pickle, sauerkraut, thousand island whipped ricotta and gruyère cheese — Wylie said the dough was successful and Tom said it really tasted like a reuben
Vinny, Tristen and Shuai at the favourite pizzas for the judges, but ultimately Tristen was crowned the challenge winner, achieving his third immunity.
Henry, Paula and César has the least favourite pizzas of the day, with Henry eliminated from the competition, heading to Last Chance Kitchen.
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