| 1 |
Mark |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
2
|
0
|
| Last Week: 8 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
1
|
I like a little stability in my power rankings, but it's only week two, so I'm not going to agonize over the top spot just yet. A great week for Mark earned him a huge jump. Not only did his sirloin with mushrooms, peaches, turnips and butter earn him another quickfire win (though there was no "winner" last week, he was one of two singled out for praise -- I'm counting that), but he did it despite leaving behind his mizuna greens, and he managed to stand out despite the fact that, as mentioned above, the kitchen was filled to the rafters with grilled beef. And what a great idea that crispy quinoa croquette with marinated anchovy "nigiri" was. It didn't bring home the elimination challenge win, but it seemed clear from the judges' comments that he was right there at the top and I loved the concept and recipe. Four challenges, and Mark's managed to rack up a win, a pseudo-win, and a near win. So despite getting a little goofy with the duck last week, it's hard not to give him the top spot.
|
|
| 2 |
Richard |
|
Quickfires |
1
|
1
|
1
|
| Last Week: 1 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
Even though Dufresne called him out in the quickfire, I'm reluctant to drop Richard too far based on the strength of his cooking last week. Had weeks one and two been reversed, he'd definitely be battling Mark for the top spot, so I don't see why this should be any different. It's hard to say what Dufresne didn't like about his "Chicken Soup" with apples, apple cider and eucalyptus. We didn't get much in the way of commentary. But a couple of judges commented on the strength of his bison tartare with tarragon coulis, and I thought it looked like a neat recipe. My hunch is that if he were on a different team, he'd have been in the running for the win. In any case, he still looks strong to me despite the minor stumble, and he hangs onto number two.
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|
| 3 |
Antonia |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Last Week: 4 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
Antonia didn't make a big splash this week, but she put together two more solid dishes and answered some of the questions I had about her last week. Though it didn't make the show, her ribeye with celery root gratin, Brussels sprouts and brown butter was one of the more interesting quickfire recipes I perused. And her lamb and edamame in lettuce cups with soy marinade, chopped cashews and crispy rice noodles was the lone success on the otherwise pitiful Team Gorilla. Again, it was fairly straightforward, but it was out of the Italian palette this time, and Gail seemed to really enjoy it. Add to this the fact that she just seems cool and confident, and while I'd like to see a lot more creativity out of her, she's just looking rock solid right now and I can't drop her.
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|
| 4 |
Dale |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Last Week: 3 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
0
|
0
|
Dale, on the other hand, I need to move down a notch. I'm still waiting for him to make a splash, and I feel like it's coming, but he needs to make a move soon or he'll start sinking more rapidly. Dufresne seemed to really enjoy his mushrooms with shallots, radishes, eggs and butter. And while his elimination dish didn't receive much attention (owing, I believe, to the fact that he was teamed with Nikki), his venison loin was a really complex little bite that sounded wonderful to me. It was skewered along with honeyed roasted squash, and topped with a port and berry reduction, a gin crème fraîche and "juniper dust". But he also got into it with Nikki (who totally deserved it -- more below -- way below), and even if it wasn't his dish, adding cheese to the mushrooms without tasting them was just stupid. So I'm going to let him slip a spot.
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|
| 5 |
Stephanie |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 2 |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
1
|
1
|
Stephanie should probably be dropped further after a rough week and a narrow escape, but here's the thing. When I went to Scylla last year, one of my friends had a dish that I think was Stephanie's ill-fated roasted pear and crab salad with celery root. Or if not, it was something very similar. And it was AWESOME. So call it insider information if you must, but if she hadn't gotten stupid and decided to toss it ahead of time, I don't think the improvement would have been small. Luckily for her, that banana bread bailed her out. I suspect her mother will be getting flowers for that one. Stephanie's clearly dealing with her nerves, and she's going to have to get them under control. But if she can, I think she has the best shot at giving us a female winner. IF.
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|
| 6 |
Andrew |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 11 |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
1
|
0
|
The other big jump of the week, Andrew came across as a totally different chef (and person) in week two. As grating and arrogant as he was at the outset, he seemed downright cheery and playful this week. And his food seems to have come around as well. His lamb chops with balsamic peach chutney, onions, mint and potatoes looked like a solid dish. He was just too tweaked to realize he was using too many ingredients. And a charred squid ceviche with soy balsamic tapioca? I couldn't pass that up if I saw it on a menu, and apparently the flavor matched the uniqueness. The yuzu mint glacier was just the icing on the cake. If he keeps having fun like this, he's going to be around for a while. I may have judged too soon. Suddenly I'm very curious to see what he'll do next week.
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| 7 |
Jennifer |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Last Week: 5 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
Jennifer drops a couple of spots here through no fault of her own, but rather because a couple of others made a splash. She's still flying under the radar, quietly cooking dishes that look great on the website, even if they aren't getting the editors' love. Her quickfire was one of the steaks, a grilled sirloin with a charred pepper and tomato sauce. And while her elimination dish was kind of dismissively mentioned as "roasted zucchini", that belies the sophistication of the dish. In reality, the recipe is a full-on grocery list, including an artichoke stuffing, anchovy aioli and olive tapenade. Not the flashiest in terms of flavor palette, but more complex than the show made it seem. She's one of the middle of the pack dark horses who I suspect will make a splash sometime soon.
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| 8 |
Lisa |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 9 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
Another of the middle-packers who I suspect we haven't really seen yet is Lisa, who showed a little more than she did last week. Another of the grilled meats that didn't survive the cutting room floor, her quickfire dish actually struck me as one of the more interesting ones, and given that Dufresne didn't call it out on the bottom, I have to believe it succeeded on some level. She did a ribeye with sautéed leeks and a beet caramel sauce. I would have liked to see Dufresne's take, and it's too bad we didn't. And in the elimination, she showed a little range, going Asian with her Thai shrimp and crab salad with tempura watercress. Plus, crispy watercress at a catered event? Nicely done. I'm looking forward to a breakout dish from her.
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|
| 9 |
Spike |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
1
|
| Last Week: 6 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
0
|
0
|
I still think Spike shows potential, but he stumbled a little on the quickfire and his offerings this week didn't strike me quite like the ladies above. It's possible that you can write off the failure of his T-loin tips with apples, bread and rosemary to unexpected meat, but he should've known better anyway. A nice-looking elimination dish keeps him hanging in the pack, though. His salmon a la plancha with pickled vegetables and fresh herbs in a lettuce cup was an excellent choice for this type of event, and he seemed to have pulled it off nicely. I suspect he, like Dale, was hurt somewhat by having Nikki on his team. Otherwise, we might have heard a little more praise. In any case, he's the third of the middle four who have yet to distinguish themselves.
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| 10 |
Zoi |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 10 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
The last of this waiting to bust out group, holding steady at 10, is Zoi. Her quickfire dish, not shown, was a grilled hen of the woods mushroom with squash puree, sautéed kale and chestnuts and balsamic vinaigrette. The presentation was fairly sloppy, but hey, it wasn't grilled beef. Her Moroccan-spiced lamb meatball with ricotta cream, pomegranate syrup and pistachio, however, looked like a great dish and got some high praise. My sense is that she won't be around for too long, but that's more by virtue of my belief that the solid but unspectacular crowd is going to be scraping the bottom of the barrel very soon. In any case, with the understanding that anybody can make a dumb mistake and blow it, Zoi's going home before her partner.
|
|
| 11 |
Ryan |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
2
|
0
|
| Last Week: 14 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
0
|
1
|
Hey, what do you know? It looks like Ryan decided to stick around for a bit. While he didn't have the same kind of turnaround that Andrew did, Ryan had a pretty solid week. His sirloin with lettuce, radishes, potatoes and dijon wasn't exactly reinventing the wheel, but Dufresne singled it out for praise, so he must've done something right. And his beet bite at the zoo soiree got a lot of good play, and I thought it looked like a neat recipe. The beets were dressed with five(!) types of citrus, goat cheese and ras el hanout, and the judged seemed to really enjoy it. I can't get past his piccata debacle, so I'm not going any higher than 11, but we'll see if he continues to come back or if he reverts to his previous bumbly state.
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|
| 12 |
Manuel |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 12 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
0
|
Manuel didn't have a bad week, but I'm just not getting a survivor vibe from him. His quickfire dish, which went unseen, was a lamb-stuffed Anaheim chile with onions, mint and a tomato puree. I could be wrong, but that sounds like it needs more. And his elimination bite was similarly minimal, consisting of chicken braised with a little tomatillo and garlic, and spiked with jalapeno, lime and cilantro. That's all fine and good for the Mexican joint down the street, but I just don't see how it's going to stand out here. And despite his insistence that he's well-versed in Italian and trained in French, so far he's showing a remarkable lack of range. I don't know if he's just afraid to step out of that comfort zone, but he's going to have to do it soon or he's going to get into trouble quickly.
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|
| 13 |
Erik |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
1
|
| Last Week: 15 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
0
|
1
|
Erik moves up a couple of notches this week, mostly by virtue of not being Valerie or Nikki. His quickfire really was puzzling. A pile of lamb, a pile of carrots, a pile of potatoes, each dressed in garlic and mint. When you have so few ingredients to work with, you can't start deconstructing stuff. You have to find a few distinctive flavors that work well together and marry them with skill. His was a cop-out dish. Whether he was driven by fear or a lack of skill, I don't know, but either way that isn't going to cut it. His elimination dish sounded a little better, but it's hard to say because I don't think we saw or heard a single solitary thing about it. The recipe struck me as unremarkable. Chicken satay with a red curry marinade, and a simple tropical salsa. I'm sure it was perfectly edible, but it's also the kind of thing that Chili's is putting out these days. That won't get you noticed. He's called himself a soul chef, but I don't see that comforting warmth so far. I just see boring.
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|
| 14 |
Nikki |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
0
|
1
|
| Last Week: 7 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
1
|
Yup... that's what I thought. Setting aside for a moment the fact that she'd be gone if she'd been on Team Gorilla, she just turned out two clunkers. The mushroom appeared to be pretty miserable all around, but it actually wasn't as embarrassing, in my opinion, as her unshown quickfire dish. She sautéed peppers, mushrooms and eggplant, tossed them with olive oil and mizuna greens, and served them on a premade flatbread. Assuming the produce was good, I'm sure it was tasty, but come on... you have to do something more than that. Plus, she seemed willing to let the team take the fall for her mushrooms, and was telling them to put ingredients back so she could get flowers for the table. Sure, table presentation is nice, but not at the expense of your food. I think she showed her true colors this week, and she won't be around for long. First upscale creative challenge, she's done -- unless Erik beats her to it.
|
|
| 15 |
Valerie |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
1
|
1
|
| Last Week: 13 |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
0
|
1
|
Repeat after me, Valerie: BLI-NI. BLI-NI. Two syllables, not three. Is that so har-- hey... where'd you go? I thought she'd probably stick around for a few weeks, but I can't say I'm surprised. She got off to a decent start, and that rib eye with peaches and sweet potatoes looked mighty tasty. But she made a dumb decision with the blinis and just wasn't skilled enough to make up for it. For those who are wondering why she went home instead of Nikki, I believe it's because the judges first chose the Gorillas as the losing team, and then selected their ultimate loser from that team. That's how they've always handled eliminations for team challenges, and this one's no different, though the teams were very small. No matter. I think Valerie was clearly chaff, and the fact that she beat a couple of other less deserving individuals to the bottom doesn't change the fact that she probably wasn't long for this competition anyway. |
Thank you! Every time she said 'bellini' I had to yell at the TV to correct her. But it also made me want a bellini.
Also, someone, one of the women (it might have been the previous week) called the noodle in their dish 'parpardelle.' and that's how it was displayed on screen too. There is no 'r' in that word.
Posted by: Peggasus | March 29, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Oops, there is, but not at the beginning.
Posted by: Peggasus | March 29, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Yes, Nikki should have been gone here, not what, 7 weeks later!? Alas, would have liked to see Val stick around awhile longer.
Cheers,
Mark
Posted by: Mark F | May 19, 2008 at 09:30 PM