2 days ago
'Top Chef' tearful elimination in Milan determines the chefs moving on to the Season 22 finale
We reached a big location change for Top Chef, with the remaining four competitors landing in Milan, Italy. They met host Kristen Kish near the famous Duomo di Milano, where this week's competition started with a Quickfire Challenge.
The chefs had to present their own version of a risotto dish in 35 minutes and there was $15,000 up for grabs for the winner. But the challenge was not being taken into account to determine who moves through to the finale.
Tristen won the challenge making a West African risotto with heirloom tomatoes and charred buttered greens.
Moving on to the elimination challenge, Kirsh introduced the three-part heat-to-head tournament, with the chefs tasked with featuring ingredients from Milan, Cortina and places in between.
Round 1 was centred around polenta and the winner of that round automatically secures their spot in the finale. The three remaining chefs compete in the next round, focused on beet dishes, and the winner of that round moves on to the finale.
Finally, the remaining two chefs move on to the third round of cooking, presenting a dish with gorgonzola cheese.
Four Olympians and Paralympians joined Top Chef in Milan. Elana Meyers Taylor, five-time U.S. Olympic medalist in bobsled, Red Gerard, U.S. Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding, Declan Farmer, three-time Paralympic gold medalist in sled hockey, and Oksana Masters, 19-time U.S. Paralympic medalist in para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para cycling and para rowing.
Joining the judges panel was Ali Ghzawi from Top Chef World All Stars, and chef and owner of Alee, and Andrea Aprea, chef and owner of Andrea Aprea Ristorante Milano.
Round 1 dishes were as follows:
Tristen — Cou cou with pwason nan sos and epis-marinated mackerel
César — Polenta cake with black walnut ice cream and candied prosciutto
Shuai — Five-spice roast duck on creamy polenta
Bailey — Creamy polenta with roaster mushrooms, hazelnuts and herbs
Each judge held a paddle for the polenta dish they liked the best. Tristen and César each got one vote, Bailey got two votes and Shuai won with three votes, securing his spot in the finale. Ali said it was brilliant and the polenta really stood out. Tom Colicchio said the duck was beautifully cooked.
Moving on to the second round, the chef had to complete their beet dishes in 30 minutes, while Shuai got to watch his competitors cook.
Tristen — Glazed beets, smoked beet purée, beet pikliz and pork belly
César — Beet tostada with chipotle mayo and salsa verde
Bailey — Grilled beets with brown butter caper vinaigrette and whipped ricotta
At the end of that round, Tristen got a whopping six votes, with César getting three votes for the best dish, and Bailey couldn't get any votes. Kristen said Tristen's dish was "technically flawless," while Tom said Bailey's big flaw was the dish was more cheese forward than beet forward.
In the final round to get a spot in the finale, Bailey and César had 30 minutes to make a gorgonzola dish.
César — Butternut squash casserole with gorgonzola sauce and sage pesto
Bailey — Polenta gratinata with brûléed gorgonzola
And in the final deliberation, César was eliminated from the competition. Tom said Bailey's dish was more "focused" on the gorgonzola, which pushed her ahead.
And that takes us to the final cook of Top Chef Season 22.
