Top Chef: Today Show and Rocco Dispirito
Top Chef, Today Show, Bravo TV series, Episode Recap & Review Blog
Sensitive blubber-puss Richard left a goodbye note before he left for home. He passed the baton o’ weepiness on to Alex, who read the letter aloud between sniffles. Based on his propensity for tears, I was expecting Richard’s note to contain a poem ode to his spatula or something. In actuality, he gave the following straight-forward advice to the friends he left behind: “F*ck the rest of them.” Richard’s exit means Jamie is the final remaining member of Team Rainbow.
For their Quickfire Callenge, the chefs are told to make an amuse-bouche breakfast item. Once again we have a guest judge with a hankerin’ for bacon. Side note: I find Rocco Dispirito puzzling. Isn’t he basically famous for having a reality-show restaurant that failed miserably? His culinary career seems to consist of frozen food endorsements and book tours. Does he actually know how to cook?
Fabio is quick to point out that Rocco is not really Italian; he’s an “American chef, Italianized.” The resident authentic Italiano goes on to protest the use of bacon and “bullshit” eggs in breakfast food. He thinks people should have something light in the morning so he makes brioche and an espresso shot with a pudding-like consistency. Um, I’m pretty sure brioche has eggs. Like, a lot of eggs. Whether they are of the “bullshit” variety, I can’t be certain. Even with his aversion for all things not European, I can’t help but enjoy Fabio.
The top three were Leah (with an actual one-bite amuse bouche bacon/egg/cheese sandwich), Jamie (with a 2-bite bacon/egg/cheese sandwich), and Stefan who made Huevos Rancheros (getting extra points for his eggshell cutting skills). Leah walked away with immunity again and Rocco gave her a copy of his new book, which he carefully held up to the camera while flashing a cheeseball grin.
The Elimination challenge required the chefs create a dish for a 2 ½ minute television presentation. This is also called a demo. At the grocery store, Fabio asks if he can come behind the counter and cut his own fish. And they say yes! Eugene and Hosea do the same thing. What the hell kind of grocery store lets customers manhandle the meats?
All the contestants were given a little set to do their presentations, with Padma, Tom, Rocco, and Gail standing by to pester them and taste the food. When it was Daniel’s turn, he had the bizarre tendency to exclaim catch-phrases from the Howard Stern show for no particular reason. I have no recollection of his food but I can now say with certainty that he’s a tool. Jamie, who was sure she’d do well because she has experience with live TV, served salad with raw duck egg. Her near poisoning of the judges earned her a spot in the bottom three. Alex joined her, after attempting to do crème brulee in an hour. Melissa rounded out the group with her inedible spicy seafood. You know your food is bad when a judge is okay with eating salmonella-laced eggs but spits out your shrimp. She still managed to stay after successfully pleading with the judges. Bye Alex.
The top three (Ariane, Fabio, and Jeff) got an in-person wakeup call from Mr. Gay Bear Icon himself at 2 AM the following morning. They got to re-cook their dishes to be served to, and judged by, a flock of ladies from the Today show. Several of the ladies made a dry-heaving noise after biting into Jeff’s concoction, with one actually spitting her bite out. I don’t remember seeing any other episode of Top Chef where food from 2 different chefs got spat out. Ariane took the win with her watermelon, beefsteak tomato, and feta salad with basil oil. I personally object to the combination of watermelon, oil, and cheese. But I’m no Kathy Lee Gifford.
“I’m a chef, not a public servant.” -Alex
