Top Chef: Wisconsin Finale Recap: Yes, Chef

Going into “Cruising to a Win,” it felt like one of three Best Chef: Wisconsin finalists had an equal chance of withdrawing. This season has been up and down in many ways (Kristen’s effectiveness as a host, the vagueness of some of the challenges, the apparent conspiracy to get Soo out of Last chance kitchen on Excellent chef strictly speaking), but Danny, Dan and Savannah each had small paths to glory. Danny was the clear early favorite thanks to his creativity and gastronomic experience. Dan had a history of overcoming obstacles as a chef who tried out 11 times for the show and was a favorite with the judges often enough to prove that his Kennedy disease diagnosis wouldn’t hold him back. Savannah had a late-season tear, winning challenge after challenge and taking risks that revealed her growing confidence. Each one seemed potentially worthy…until Danny took out the shell-shaped cookie pan, started cutting little flowers out of his produce, and served one of his sauces in a conch shell. These are Buddha Lo moves, and they are catnip for Excellent chef judges.

The Elimination challenge is very simple: each chef must prepare a progressive four-course meal. Interestingly, although the cruise ship is now in Aruba, the judges don’t really emphasize that the chefs take inspiration from the flavors of the island or their location; “blow us away”. As guiding inspirations for their final meals, Savannah and Danny land on similar ideas revolving around important food memories, while Dan opts for a “living in the moment” idea inspired by chef Masaharu Morimoto’s suggestion in the previous episode. that they all enjoy this dining experience and don’t think too much about it. Then it’s time to choose the sous chefs from Laura, Amanda, Michelle, Manny, Soo and Kaleena, and Dan chooses his old teammate Damanda, Savannah chooses her friend and fellow Southerner Michelle, and Danny chooses Manny, a choice which makes me say, “Oh no” out loud. I love Manny, and Manny also has a background in fine dining, but Danny seems like a demanding, demanding person to work for, and I don’t know how this pairing is going to work!

After discussing their meal ideas at length (Danny makes all the seafood; Savannah brings the Southern inspiration; Dan crafts a menagerie of flavors), they go shopping, and that’s when I tell you that can -being the only dramatic part of this first half of the episode is when Danny keeps losing Manny: “The biggest guy in the grocery store, and I couldn’t find him.” A little montage of the two of them running in circles in the grocery store, repeatedly missing each other? It’s cliché and brilliant. Sure, Dan has a little hiccup when a grocery store employee cooks his sardines instead of cleaning them and he has to switch to red snapper, but isn’t that really just a meta-reflection of his life theme from the moment ?

Back in the cruise ship’s (still cramped) kitchen, the chefs prepare and meet Emeril Lagasse, and it’s very cute that they’re all stunned. Savannah asks Laura to work on pasta dough after she unexpectedly did so well with fresh pasta in the season premiere. Dan works on a dish inspired by Danny’s soba cha buckwheat tea from two previous challenges. And unsurprisingly, Danny pushes Manny to go faster and do more, and there’s a bit of tension between them when Danny learns that Manny juiced all the melon he bought for his dessert, while some of this melon was supposed to be kept for a few hours. melon balls. Oops ! But Danny decides to make a lemon relish instead, and given how much the judges loved his lemon hazelnut relish from last week, it seems like a wise choice. He also consigns seaweed, which sounds deranged, but maybe it is. In fact the perfect sweet and savory snack I’ve been looking for my whole life? I will remain open-minded!

One of the biggest changes this season has been the emphasis on quality time between Kristen, the other judges and the competing chefs, and we’re getting more of that with breakfast on the morning of the finale. Kristen cries, everyone talks about how meaningful this experience was, and Tom gives Savannah a thumbs up for clarifying that she’s a UNC fan instead of a Duke fan, which could be the most humanizing thing Tom has ever done and it makes me love it. him a little. (I’m forced, as a Terp from when UMD was in the ACC with Duke, to believe they’ll always be the worst.) Then it’s time for more preparation, and for me to laugh of wild, shocked indignation when Danny gives Manny a complete to-do list and tells him “All of this… should, in total, take you 40 minutes.” Joel McHale in The bear, you would be proud! And, thank goodness, Manny really tries, charring the cabbage Danny wanted with special care and visibly panicking when he realizes he didn’t cook the lobster tails all the way through. This man just wanted to do a good job for Danny, and there’s a purity there that I love.

There are problems in the kitchen, however, aside from Danny and Manny’s dynamic. Dan likes the texture of his sous vide tuna, but I’m not sure seafood should ever be described as “jammy,” and Savannah realizes that her pasta dough has an abnormal texture. Of course, both of these wrinkles become issues when judging. For ease of reading, I will write down each chef’s last meal:

And

Starter: Tuna tartare, Ruby Red grapefruit, Caribbean pepper puree, black garlic labné

Second course: Grilled red snapper, ginger, green onions, braised pumpkin, smoked red snapper dashi

Third course: Oxtail stew, yeast dumpking, pikliz

Fourth course: Yogurt mousse with coriander and olive oil, salty phyllo chips, grilled pineapple

Dany

Starter: Scallops and leche de tigre habanero, breadfruit and nori tuile

Second course: Smoked mussels, plantain, charred cabbage

Third course: Lobster with macha salsa, squash and persimmon, and Burmese curry-style chaaza sauce

Fourth course: Piragua con leche, inspired by Puerto Rican crushed ice, with melon sorbet, acodado yogurt, candied seaweed, anti-grill pad with condensed milk

Savannah

Starter: salted fish fritter, sweet potato puree, marinated mussels, habanero honey glaze

Second course: Lobster agnolotti, lobster broth, almonds, grapes

Third course: Pan-fried grouper, mofongo plantains, butter sauce

Fourth course: Banana and hummingbird upside-down cake, pineapple and lime granita, rum and coconut sauce

The first course is essentially a wash, with Dan’s appetizer praised for its “addictive” taste, Savannah’s donut for its crunch, and Danny’s scallops for its perfect cooking. Dan seems to have an advantage with the second course because Savannah’s dish is so imperfect (her brittle pasta dough, the useless almonds) and because no one knows how to eat Danny’s pile of ingredients. Savannah stays at a lower level with her third dish (all the judges blame her plantains for not being a good mofongo), while Dan and Danny seem attached, and the judges especially like Danny’s two sauces. And the final dish is another potential tie, as each judge has distinct praise for each dessert. But when Kristen called Danny’s dessert the “perfect end” to the meal and Tom said it had to be a signature dish? This was an indication that Danny’s errors (not enough salt in his appetizer, not providing instructions for his second course, unevenly cooked lobster in the third round) were deemed less egregious than Dan’s or Savannah’s, and he ends up like the first. Top Puerto Rican, Dominican and Muslim Chef. Alhamdulillah, Danny! Take advantage of all that money.

Looking back on this season as a whole, I’m grateful Excellent chef ditched the hyper-manic look of its first episode, and eventually I came across Tom and Gail joining Kristen in judging the Quickfire challenge. I also think it’s good for the competitors that important prizes are given out, even if they were financed by a sponsor who has recently been the subject of a serious scandal. The last two seem like changes that will help Excellent chef be a better experience for both its competitors and its viewers (and for any other institution seeking to improve its damaged reputation). I’m still not convinced that Kristen can bring more to the jury than her past victory. I think the pool of competitors this season could have been stronger, and I’m certain that Last chance kitchen should only be for eliminated chefs, not a horrible obstacle course for someone to try and get on the show from the start. But Excellent chef continues, and we must too, until season 22. And if you still miss Padma Lakshmi, can I interest you in her comedy?

• Tom Hat Watch: We will never have a watch this good again.

• The dishes I most wanted to eat in this episode, course by course: Savannah’s salt fish hushpuppy; Danny’s smoked mussels; Danny’s lobster; and Savannah Hummingbird Cake. It was clear that Savannah wasn’t going to win, but I thought her dishes were pleasantly enjoyable.

• Remember when I said last week, “If anyone makes an aguachile for the final challenge, I swear I will find Tom and eat one of his hats”? Danny saying he was considering making an aguachile worried me a lot! I got lucky with this leche de tigre pivot! However, I’m slightly shocked that he didn’t do anything with his beloved carrots.

• I always wonder what happens to competitors who could be chosen as sous chefs for the finalists but are then ignored. Do they still get to spend time in the final episode’s destination? Do Kaleena, Laura and Soo get a little vacation, or are they just immediately sent home? The latter seems like a difficult thing to do when you’re all together on a cruise ship.

• I loved seeing Aruba-is-windy represent when the contestants met on the deck of the cruise ship for the details of the elimination challenge. My partner and I went there about ten years ago, and those trade winds are no joke!

• Should fresh pasta be added to the list of dishes candidates should stop trying? Excellent chef? This very rarely seems to pay off! Move over, risotto.

• Thanks everyone for reading the recaps this season!