Original Air Date:
8 July 2009 (Season 1, Episode 4)Genre:
Reality-TV"Top Chef Masters" - "Magic Chefs" - July 8, 2009
Chefs:
Douglas Rodriguez: Chef-owner of several restaurants in several cities including Hola in Miami. His calls his cuisine "tortilla free Latin American cooking." He's an award winner. He's playing for Ayuda for the Arts.
Anita Lo: Chef-owner of several restaurants including Annissa in New York. She's an award winner. She's playing for Share, a breast cancer support group.
John Besh: Chef-owner of several restaurants in New Orleans. He's an award winner. He's playing for the Make It Right Foundation. He was a season 5 judge.
Mark Peel: Chef-owner of Campanile in Los Angeles. He's an award winner. He's playing for Doctors Without Borders.
Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish where they cook eggs with one hand tied behind their backs. (Season 3 "classic.") Apparently eggs are hard to get perfect even with two hands. They have 25 minutes.
Judges:
Gail Simmons, Food & Wine Magazine
Terry Reish, Chino Valley Egg Ranch
Monica May, executive chef of the Nickel Diner
They cook, they drop things, they help one another. Peel's dad only had one arm. Besh is struggling with his oven, his stuff is not fully cooked.
Dishes
Rodriguez: Milarepa- Open-faced Corn Cake with Scrambled Eggs & Ham. The judges like the biscuits and think the eggs are fluffy, moist, and delicious. 3 stars
Peel: Fresh Duck Egg Pasta with Egg & Olive Oil Cream Sauce. Reish is impressed that he made noodles with one hand but they all agree there's not enough herb flavor. (Peel realizes he forgot the olive oil.) 2 1/2 stars
Lo: Soft Scrambled Egg with Shitake Mushrooms with Truffle Oil & Oyster Sauce. They love the presentation and think it's a big taste in a cute little package. 5 stars
Besh: Slow Cooked Egg. He only finished one so the judges have to share. They realize one side is raw, it tastes just like a fried egg, and is a little greasy. 1/2 star
Elimination Challenge: Create a dish for Emmy nominated actor Neil Patrick Harris and some of his friends. The dinner will happen at the Magic Castle in L.A. Harris is a big magic fan and he's sent along a magician, Max Maven, to introduce the next challenge. He holds up a deck of blank cards and has them each pick one at random. Each card has one word, "mystery," "surprise," "spectacle," and "illusion," which Maven calls the four "ingredients" of magic. They are to create a dish inspired by the word on their card.
They get $250 to shop and 2 hours today to cook and 1 hour to prep the following evening before dinner. They're psyched about the challenge and go shopping. They joke with Anita that she's a target with her five stars.
They head back to prep. They chop and tell the cameras about their families, their inspirations, and their desires to win. Regular "Top Chef" judge Tom Colicchio comes in to needle them. They all start to freak out a bit. They take their stuff to the Magic Castle. It's really groovy, Lo compares it to Hogwart's. They get their one hour to cook. They're all freaking out about different elements. The stuff looks amazing.
Judges:
Gail Simmons, Food and Wine Magazine
James Oseland, editor-in-chief Saveur magazine
Gael Greene, longtime NY food critic
Neil Patrick Harris, and friends
Menus
Peel: "Mystery" Tai Snapper en Papillote (in Parchment) with Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Leeks. On the side: Scallion Oil & Dassai Sake. They like the way it smells. It's hard to get into though. Neil thinks it's delicious. Oseland likes the bitter finish of the scallion oil.
Besh: "Surprise" He asks Neil to be his lovely and talented assistant as he makes Creme Fraiche & Horseradish Sorbet tableside with liquid nitrogen. Salmon Tartare with Cauliflower Blini. Salmon Roe Salad with Horseradish and Creme Fraiche Sorbet. Tempura Fried Lobster Wrapped in Smoked Salmon. Besh serves the Creme Fraiche on top after whipping it up with Neil's help. They liked the surprises but they don't necessarily love all the flavors and Neil isn't sure the creme fraiche turned out like Besh wanted. It's a tad runny and the cauliflower is freezing.
Lo: "Illusion" Braised Daikon with Kombu Caviar & Steak Tartare. She explains that it's supposed to look like scallop and that she's created a seascape underneath. Neil loves the presentation and indeed thought it was a scallop. They think she nailed the illusion but don't love all the flavors. Neil thinks it's the best by far.
Rodriguez: "Spectacle" (He's nervous about the Sterno and how long it will take to flame out). When it is presented Neil agrees it's a spectacle indeed. Duck Four Ways: Oyster Ceviche with Duck Broth, Empanada with Foie Gras and Figs, Duck Breast With Butternut Squash, and Duck Soup with Young Coconut. The fire makes them nervous. Neil likes the fire and ice idea but doesn't think it was executed well. Before the scoring a magician produces a rabbit from his hair and gives it to a cooing Kelly. The chefs discuss how they made their dishes.
PART1
PART2
Hotfile
PART1
PART2
Netload
PART1
PART2
