This time, the gross ingredients mostly came in the first round, with candied fruit rolls and yellow mustard in the same basket. Nothing against yellow mustard, but it’s just not as good as the grainier kind. Anyway, the contestants, two from Toronto and another two from Calgary, set out to create a starter using those items along with beef shortloin and hummus. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a basket with two condiments before.
The dishes we saw in the first round were: panzenella salad with hummus marinated beef, accompanied by mushrooms tossed in fruit rolls. The contestant, who was from Calgary, was a rather large guy, just like his portions. Portion size was something he lost points in. Otherwise, the judges seemed to love the meat. Another contestant, also from Calgary, was a bit more original, making hummus and beef soup (and the only dish I want to try). The soup, which also used the fruit rolls as a sauce, was praised for presentation, though criticized for being a bit salty (and that the mustard seemed to be “missing” – it was there). One contestant stuck with the basics and made a beef skewer with a hummus, fruit roll and mustard sauce. Though the visual was pretty, the taste was not – one judge thought it was a bit like cough syrup! The fourth contestant made beef two ways – tataki and tartar, with fruit roll and mushroom fricassee. The judges were not too impressed. They felt that he didn’t use enough hummus (it was a “scratch”) and that the tataki wasn’t cut properly (to the grain, rather than against). However, he was not chopped. Instead, the chef who made the beef skewer was.
In round two, the contestants had to use elbow pasta (is it not “macaroni” unless it’s with cheese? Macaroni isn’t a brand. It’s not like they’re using Kraft Dinner), turkey legs, coconut milk and red pepper jelly. Seeing that coconut milk was among the ingredients, the first thing I thought of was, of course, curry, which one of the contestants made. However, the dish was criticized for the lack of colour – it was really brown and again, the portion size was a bit on the larger side. The broth was praised, however. Another contestant decided to do something a little original by turning the pasta into polenta and grilled the turkey. The judges loved the dish, especially the barbecue sauce for the turkey. However, one of the judges received an undercooked piece of meat. The third contestant made a pasta carbonara with the turkey and coconut milk. The judges noted that it tasted like a “traditional Italian pasta,” but at the same time, thought the dish was mushy (what? Wouldn’t “traditional” mean al dente?). This cost him the round as he was chopped.
For the dessert round, contestants had to use mangos, dates, Habenero peppers and bran flakes. The two finalists, both from Calgary, made very different desserts. One made cookies, using the very spicy pepper and accompanied it with a mango and date meringue. The cookies were praised for having the peppery taste without the “heat,” though some judges felt like they didn’t get either mangos or dates. The other finalist made a mango, date and habanero crumble. Though it looked good, the judges, once again, thought the portion size was too big (said that he was “consistent”). One thought it was savoury, but still sweet enough to be dessert-like.
So who won? Not the guy who consistently made larger-than-standard portions!
Image Credit: Jiang Dongmei/Shutterstock
