The March 13 airing of Chopped Canada brought us two Ontario chefs and two from Quebec – the classic Anglo-Franco rivalry.  The two Ontario contestants were from Toronto, while the Quebec chefs were from Gatineau and Montreal, respectively.

Chia seeds

The round was fairly competitive right away, with the chefs getting to work on appetizers featuring black licorice, serrano peppers, chia seeds and celeriac.  One chef used the chia seeds to crust prawns, serving it with celeriac purée, but missed two ingredients – the peppers and licorice.  He was also criticized for the presentation – the shrimp looked like they were just “picked off the beach,” according to one of the judges.  Other dishes included a pan seared trout with celeriac, serrano and licorice vinaigrette (this judge missed the chia seeds for at least one of the judges), a celeriac and apple soup with licorice, scallops and guacamole (soup was too thick, according to the judges, because of the chia seeds.  She was also criticized for a “messy presentation”) and a celeriac potato cake with goat cheese and licorice sauce.  The potato cakes, according to one of the judges, “lacked crispiness,” and another judge didn’t taste any serrano (it was in the potato cake).  The chef plated the meal with chorizo, something that a judge thought was odd as it looked a bit out of place.  So who was chopped?  The chef who served the prawns.

“Candy-covered” Chocolate

In the second round, the ingredients were bison tenderloin, rapini, honey comb and candy covered chocolate (i.e. Smarties or M&Ms).  Other than the candy, it really wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary (If I were part of the competition, I would likely have been inspired by Chinese style beef tenderloin, a sweet and sour beef dish found in many Cantonese restaurants).  Dishes this round were not too super-creative.  One made a candy cumin (ground together) grilled bison, served with a honey rapini and three different kinds of potatoes.   The judges loved the bison, but was criticized for over-cooked rapini and the fact that the sweet potatoes she used didn’t really “work” well.  Another made a pan seared bison with a candy-honey-ginger reduction and served it with potatoes.  This chef didn’t do too much with the rapini – one judge thought it was too much of a garnish.  He was also criticized for making undercooked potatoes.  The third chef made a honey grilled bison with a maple and chocolate candy jus, served with sautéed rapini with chili flakes and corn.  However, the dish was seen as being too sweet and the contestant also tasted the food with his fingers.  He was chopped.

For dessert, the chefs were required to use raspberries, balsam jelly, double cream brie and curry powder.  Neither chefs had made desserts in their professional lives, so they basically had to “wing it” as one contestant said.  One (attempted) to make ice cream (but he didn’t know how to use the machine, so he just placed the custard, made with the cheese, on to a tray before placing it in the blast chiller).  He also made deconstructed balsam and raspberry pie.  However, he only plated three plates, so one of the judges did not get a dessert.  He was also criticized for a messy presentation.  The other chef made curry pot au chocolat with maple candy walnuts.  It was served with a raspberry and balsam coulis and a meringue.  One judge loved the curry and chocolate pairing, while another thought there wasn’t enough of it.  So who got the $10K?  Ms. Pot au Chocolat.  The other contestant was pretty much chopped right at the presentation stage due to the missing plate.

Image credits: Chia: By Magister Mathematicae (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons; Chocolate covered candies – By St0rmz (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alazaat/2357636026/) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons