Not only was there a lot of junk in the mystery boxes, but last night’s show also featured one of the most “mature” candidates yet. Chef Philip was in his early 60s! Not that age really matters, of course. But it was interesting to see the difference in dishes he made and the other candidates, whose ages ranged from mid-20s to late 40s, came up with.
What kind of main dish would YOU make with chocolate truffles?
First round, the mandatory ingredients were chicken drumsticks, cheese puffs, pita and napa cabbage. It doesn’t really sound too tough to come up with something, but each and every candidate had their flaws. Cooking was a major issue. Drumsticks can take time to cook, but only one of the candidates even bothered to take them apart to reduce cooking time. Otherwise, the dishes could have been good. Dishes created included Philip’s chicken curry with napa cabbage (looked good, but the chicken was too undercooked and therefore inedible), grilled chicken with napa, two ways (this was the chef who did not leave the drumsticks as is and took them apart instead. Judges liked the marinade, but thought the portion size was a bit small), hoisin glazed cheese puff drumsticks with napa slaw and five spice pita chips (this contestant’s chicken was fairly inconsistent. Some judges had overcooked chicken, while others had pieces that were less cooked) and a Southwest napa salad with drumsticks. Though the judges liked the dressing, which was a lime vinaigrette, they thought that the salad should have been tossed. This, along with her very undercooked chicken, led her to be chopped after the first round.
Next up, the ingredients were canned lobster, chocolate truffles, gooseberries and eggplant, a list that isn’t too weird from a Chopped perspective. I probably would have made lobster mole or something to that extent. Dishes created included a beautiful crispy eggplant and creamy lobster stack with a chocolate and gooseberry salad (one judge thought more seasoning was necessary, while another loved it. Unfortunately, cartilage was found in the dish, which probably knocked off a few points) and the older chef created a baked eggplant with spaetzie and lobster thermidor (a somewhat retro dish). The presentation of this dish was a bit lacking – looking like something from a school or hospital cafeteria rather than an item off a restaurant menu. He was praised for making spaetzie rather quickly, however. The third dish created, a lobster and eggplant salad with gooseberry and chocolate sauce was good, but the judges thought the portion was small. The chopped candidate this round was the older chef who had the unattractive plating.
For the final round, ingredients were corn dogs, proscuitto, figs and crème fraîche – very interesting for desserts! Since bacon ice cream is a “thing,” both remaining candidates decided to use the proscuitto in a frozen, creamy treat. One chef made beignets using the breading from the corn dog, accompanied by fig and proscuitto ice cream (judges loved the “airiness” of the beignets as well as the ice cream itself) and the other created figs “three ways” that included a strawberry and fig salad with corn dog, which the judges thought was interesting. However, that was not enough for him to win the $10,000.
Image credit: By Steven Depolo [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
