Thoughts on Top Chef Season 7 Episode 10: Covert Cuisine

If you have not seen this week’s episode of Top Chef, read no further. This post contains spoilers!

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

The title of the show is “Covert Cuisine.” Hmmm, what kind of challenges will the cheftestants engage in?

Alex is clearly painted as the villain of this season. I don’t blame the producers. He even has that evil scientist look going for him.

There’s a bunch of boxes marked with question marks at the kitchen. Riddler’s the guest judge? No, Wylie Dufresne is. Quickfire challenge: Create a dish with contents of mystery boxes. All the boxes have similar ingredients. As the challenges progress, more boxes will come in. I like what Angelo said about keeping your vision loose.

High stakes quickfire! $10,000 worth of bath products! Oh wait, furnished by Dial Nutriskin is what Padma said.

Boxes open!! Fish, fava beans and an unlabeled can. What’s that in the can? Hamani? Harmony?

Woah, a secret agent guy enters the kitchen. So kitschy!! I’m expecting maybe Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones will follow. You know, Men in Black? Mystery box holds squid and black garlic. Black garlic! That looks interesting. Kelly says she doesn’t want the flavors to get too confusing.

Secret agent guy comes in again and the 3rd mystery box is passion fruit and a what? It looks like petchay.

Secret agent guy comes in AGAIN and there’s jicama. Ten minutes left!

Random thought: You know what would be a nice challenge? Incorporate all the ingredients in the song Bahay Kubo into one dish. Now THAT’s a Top Chef challenge. Singkamas, talong, sigarilyas, mani, sitaw, bataw, patani, kundol, patola, upo, kalabasa, labanos, mustasa, sibuyas, kamatis, bawang, luya, linga.

Utensils down, hands up!

Alex makes rockfish with fava bean puree, ramp fondue (oooh the petchay looking thing is RAMP) and sauteed squid. “Alex Quickfire equals Bottom” I didn’t say it! Alex did!

Tiffany makes a fish stew with hominy (so that’s how it’s spelled), fava beans, saffron and black garlic. Hey, this looks like it could work! Broth is very nice, Wylie says.

We’ve got another stew! Kelly makes a Yucatecan (yucawhata?) Seafood Stew with black garlic, fava beans and grilled ramps. It looks hearty too.

Amanda tends to create foods that are BROWN. Always brown. Just an observation. She makes a crispy skin striped bass, squid fricassee, leek and mushroom fondue.

Kevin makes pan-seared rockfish, hominy puree, jicama and passion fruit salad. Hey, I didn’t see passion fruit in the first four dishes.

Ed makes a rockfish sashimi with hominy-basil puree and grilled squid marinade.

Angelo makes a smoky hominy pot-au-feu, squid, rockfish tataki and passuin fruit gel. Angelo looks mighty sweaty.

Least successful: ALEX’s dish was all over the place, Amanda’s was too oily.

Successful: Tiffany, good integration of components and flavor. Kevin had a nicely balanced dish. The winner is… Kevin? Oh, Tiffany!!! This is really the woman to beat in this competition. She won the quickfire before right? She’s won $20k on the show so far! Good for her! Her wedding AND honeymoon could be totally paid for now. Thank you Top Chef right!?

Elimination Challenge is a case of national security, Padma says. Ooooh Create a new identity for a classic dish. That’s tough! Knife block is out. They get their classic dishes and are told they’re serving the CIA, specifically the head of CIA. Serving AT CIA Headquarters. SO COOL. Winner gets a trip to Paris, France.

Here’s Ed with his girlfriend talk again. We know he’s dated Angelo’s girlfriend, had a bunch of Chinese girlfriends and now girlfriend talk.

Angelo says he’s serving Beef Wellington pizza style. I like where he’s going.

Cooking time! 2.5 hours to prep and cook.

Amanda looks extra hyper in her interviews so I’m guessing she’ll be the one eliminated. Hmm. She says she respects Alex even if others hate him, something like that.

Oh, Kevin reminds us that Jon (1st guy who got eliminated) got sent home partly because he used a storebought puff pastry, and now Angelo’s got a storebought pastry. Uh oh on that insight!

If you deconstruct a dish, does that mean it’s got a new identity? Hmmm.

The chefs walk into the CIA office. Wow! Awesome. Restricted government property, Amanda says.

1.5 hours to cook! Ooh even the plates have CIA seals on them. That’s a collectible!

Amanda’s worried that even Helen Keller would be able to guess what her dish is. Well Amanda, you have French Onion Soup and what do you create? SOUP. *head on desk*

Kelly’s rice is complete mush, totally overcooked. Tiffany keeps Kelly’s shiz together. Tiffany looks like a great Executive Chef ‘no? I’d love for her to be Top Chef.

Leon Panetta and the officers/staff joins the Top Chef judges at a very cold-looking room. They all look so stern!

Angelo’s: Tartlet topped with slivers of beef (Beef Wellington). Padma asks them to guess what it is and Eric Ripert answers it. Poor disguise, Leon Panetta says! “They would’ve captured this individual and hung him.” Ow! IT was salty with a hard pastry, tsk tsk. Eric Ripert says it looks easy and Beef Wellington is usually more challenging.

Kelly: Spicy Shrimp Broth with Rice and Szechuan Shrimp Tempura (Kung Pao Shrimp). Leon Panetta doesn’t know what it is and Wylie jokefully boasts “for once I know something you don’t.” Hahaha! Pad Thai? says one lady. Tom Colicchio guesses Kung Pao Shrimp. He liked the flavor. Wylie says the sauce turned into a broth went well.

Tiffany: Roasted Leg of Lamb with smoky Eggplant, Tomatoes and Pickled Onions (Gyro). The most elegant gyro, Eric Ripert says.

Kevin: Romaine lettuce, tomato, bacon, roquefort, avocado, cucumber and Turkey (Cobb Salad). Leon Panette thought it was something Mexican and then he shares a hearty laugh. Seems like a nice guy ‘no? A nice guy who knows everything about you. Yikes! Tom said a salad became a salad, but it tasted good. Seems like’s biased.

Hey, Leon Panetta has to leave! Business calls, he says. Is this scripted?

Amanda: Consomme with oxtail marmalade, caramelized onions, shaved gruyere (French Onion Soup). Too sweet?

Alex: Beal and Parmigiano Cheese Tortelloni with Tomato Sauce and Tempura Cheese (Veal Parmesan). Meat’s tough. Poor execution. Bad feedback.

Ed: Nothing’s going wrong on his mission, he says. Roasted Chicken Breast, Ham and Cheese Croquette, Spring Onion Soubise (Chicken Cordon Bleu). Pretty obvious, the judges say. Good flavors but not much of a disguise.

Okay, stew room! Tiffany, Kelly and Ed are called in. Great feedback all around for the trio. The winner is TIFFANY! WOW! She’s going to Paris! She’s got a honeymoon!!! Wow, I got shivers just for her!

Who’s getting called into the deliberation room? Alex, Amanda and Angelo. Kev is in the middle. Okay let the criticism fly!

Amanda says her dish was not disguised. Not following directions, tsk. You took a soup and made a soup with an overly sweet marmalade, Tom Colicchio says.

Angelo’s dish was sloppy and he didn’t go very far. Kind of sad, Eric Ripert says.

Disguise was poor execution, Wylie says about Alex’s dish.

The judges deliberate and they make a decision. I think it’s Alex. Tough meat, bad execution right? But at least he put in effort. Versus Amanda, who made a soup still a soup. So I’m thinking Amanda. If we go by logic, it’s Amanda. Plus there’s her overly perky talking head so let’s see.

Please pack your knives and go… ALEX. Oh. PEA PUREE THIEF GOES. Everyone I’m sure is relieved.

Next Top Chef: Concession stand? At a baseball stadium? All chefs behind one stand? Let’s see what happens next!

The dish I would love to have tasted? None. I guess nothing intrigued me!

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.