Thoughts on Top Chef Season 7 Episode 1: House of Chef-Presentatives

If you have not seen the first Top Chef episode of this season, read no further. This post contains spoilers!

How’d you guys like the Top Chef premiere? Here are my random thoughts. Would love to hear yours!

• TOP CHEF DC! Will the White House be part of a challenge I wonder, just as it was in the Super Chef Battle of Iron Chef America?
• Ooh, Eric Ripert is part of the panel. Tough season!
• Lookie, a new sponsor. Dial Nutriskin. What a body wash has got to do with food I don’t know. No more Glad family of products?! Where will the chefs place their food when they have a catering challenge?
• Top Chef Season 7. Hail to the Chef. *snickers* Okay that made me laugh.
• Top Chef intro! Meet the cheftestants. What? Noone has a faux hawk? This can’t be!
• FIRST QUICKFIRE!!!! WOOOOOO! Basic skills and speed? Aw. I thought they’d be cooking right away. The cheftestants have to peel ten potatoes, brunoise 10 cups of onions, break down 4 chickens into 8 parts, then prepare a dish in the end. Relay style. But only the fastest chefs of each round get to progress to the next. Winner gets $20,000. Wow.
• The four chefs who make the final round (cooking round!) are Timothy, Angelo, Kenny and Kevin. All men! Hmmm, Angelo looks like he has the most personality out of the four.
• Quickfire Dishes rundown: Angelo’s Roasted Wing & Thigh, Curried Onion Jam, Potato Noodles. Kevin’s Boneless Chicken Wing , Hot & Sour Broth, Tomatoes, Fennel, Potato and Mushroom. Tim’s Garlic Roasted Chicken, Potato Galette and Oyster Mushrooms. Kenny’s Duo of Chicken with Moroccan Spice, Potato Puree & Onion Confit. My personal favorite? Angelo’s. I so want to try that curried onion jam.
• Aaaaand the judges declare Angelo as the winner of the first quickfire. YES!
• Elimination Challenge time! Create a dish that reflects where you’re from. The group divide themselves into four, the Quickfire top players choose those they want in their team (well, the players they will cook against) and I kind of got lost what happens next. I’m like, ELIMINATION! ELIMINATION! Fast forward please.
• Chefs are cooking, da da da, chefs are cooking, da da da… FINALLY, showtime! Eric Ripert’s a judge and oh boy, he looks like one of those vampires from Twilight. Like a Volturi to be exact. Authoritatively scary! Here are the dishes. Which one do you want to taste?
  • Amanda (California): Red Snapper Carpaccio, Clementines, Sencha Oil, Daikon & Caraway Gelee. How is that from California? She says it’s a “throwback to Neo-Classical cuisine.” Gotta read up on that!
  • Arnold (Thailand Meets Tennessee): Kaffir Lime & Basil Cake, Palm Sugar Anglaise & Myint Julep – looks interesting.
  • Kevin (Mid-Atlantic): Pennsylvanie Lamb, Meyer Lemon & Pistachio Marmalade, Spring Onions – sounds good.
  • Jacqueline (New York): Duo of Hudson Valley Chicken Liver & Port Wine Mousse – she was worried about serving grainy pate to a French chef. Uh oh.
  • Stephen (Ohio): Potato Crusted Ribeye, Celery Root Puree, Scarlet Stadium Mustard Vinaigrette – doesn’t look too appealing to me.
  • Ed (New England): Sauteed Cod Cakes with Boston Baked Beans & Shaved Fennel Salad – looks hearty! Didn’t get good feedback though.
  • Lynne (Hudson Valley): Corn-Camembert Ice Cream on Waffles, Bacon Praline & Caramel Sauce – I want to try this! But bacon for dessert? That is so Top Chef of seasons ago. Oh wait, this totally reminds me of Kevin from last season. You say bacon, I say Kevin Gillespie.
  • Tracey (Atlanta): Stone Ground Grits, Maple Cheddar, Port Royal Rock Shrimp – mmm, this looks light and good.
  • Kenny (Colorado): Cinnamon-Coffee Rubbed Trout, Black Bean Mole, Goat Chees Polenta and Quino – wow, looks really flavorful. The guests and judges thought so too!
  • Alex (Russa & California): Deconstructed Short Rib Borscht with Crème Fraiche. Ooh I want to try this! The judges liked the dish.
  • Tamesha (Barbados): Jerked Chicken Sphere, Soft Polenta, Tamarind, Mango & Cilantro
  • Andrea (South Florida & Italy): Pork with Chorizo Potato Gnocchi, Calabaza & Orange Gremolata. I think gnocchi and I remember Ashley Merriman from last season.
  • Tim (Maryland): Pan Seared Maryland Rockfish with Pickled Leek, Dill & Grilled Crostini; this looks too big for cocktails in my opinion!
  • Tiffany (Texas): Cajun Shrimp & Crawfish Salad, Chicken Fried Tomatillos; oooooh I want! It looks weird, but the description sounds good.
  • Kelly (Rocky Mountains): Spice Crusted NY Strip Steak, Fiddlehead Fern (sounds funny) & Wild Mushroom Saute
  • Angelo (Rural Connecticut): Arctic Char with Pickled Shallots, Tapioca & Smoked Bacon Froth. The presentation’s very nice too! And bacon froth? Intriguing.
  • John (Michigan): Maple Mousse Napoleon with Crisp Macadamia Nuts & Vanilla Sauce – sadly the judges tasted only sugar and no maple.
• STEW ROOM! JUDGES TABLE! The top four are: Alex (for his deconstructed Borscht), Kenny (the flavorful fish dish), Angelo (the arctic char on a spoon) and Kevin (lamb) are the top four winners. And the winner is Angelo? Angelo? Eric Ripert says Angelo. YES!!! Obviously you know who I’m rooting for.
• And the bottom four are: Steven (the ribeye that look liked chicken nuggets), John (soggy pastry, no maple flavor from a supposedly maple-centric dish), Jacqueline (low fat liver mousse doesn’t work and she doesn’t memorize a recipe she says she’s prepared hundreds of times, baaaaaad) and Timothy (bad fish cooked with skin).
• So who’s getting the first “Please pack your knives and go” diss of the season? I’m thinking John and it’s… John. Oh no, he’s crying. Arrgh, he does seem really sad. He’s making me sad!
• And for the next episodes, hey, it’s Mike from last season!!!

The dish I would love to have tasted: Angelo’s Arctic Char with Pickled Shallots, Tapioca & Smoked Bacon Froth.

Here’s the downer: I thought the premiere was kind of boring. I have a feeling last season’s chefs were much, much better. Buuuuuuuut I’m not judging a whole season by its first episode so let’s see what the next episode will bring.

Images from BravoTV.com

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.