Thoughts on Top Chef Season 7 Episode 2: Out of the lunch box

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 this Top Chef episode? Here are my random thoughts. Would love to hear yours!

• There’s that Hail to the Chef joke again from Padma. Argh. It worked for me once but this time it made me cringe! Will we hear this every intro?
• Quickfire challenge! Wow, Padma’s glowing! Motherhood becomes her.
• Right beside her is Sam Kass, Assistant White House Chef. Cutie! And oh no, another pun. Bipartisandwich quickfire. I guess the whole season will be filled with puns like these.
• Chefs must pair up to create a delicious sandwich. It’s the knife block that determines the pairing.
• The catch: Use one hand each while wearing those Siamese Twin aprons. Uh oh. If I were a cheftestant, I would’ve wanted to be partnered up with Sam from S2. Woohoo!
• Angelo has a sandwich shop in NY city. Trivia! So he has to win this sandwich challenge.
• Now look! It’s a kitchen full of Tweedledums and Tweedledees.
• Angelo’s making a sandwich with Liquid Love, and Sex on a Plate. Oh-kay.
• Here are the quickfire dishes:
  • Angelo & Tracy (who has a scary laugh): Flounder marinated in fish sauce, spicy sriracha mayo, pickled red onions. Sounds very delicious and it looks good too.
  • Andrea & Kevin served a pale-looking “Philly Cuban”: Roasted Pork, Pickle, Whole Grain Mustard, Gruyere Cheese
  • Amanda & Tamesha: Prosciutto, Swiss Cheese , Dijon Mustard & Pepper Salsa Grilled Sandwich. Oooooh I wanna try this!
  • Alex & Tim: “Croque Madame” : Ground lamb, mornay sauce and egg
  • Jacqueline & Stephen: Saba vinegar onions, California avocados and Chicken. I’m not a fan of the rosemary sticking out. If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on the plate right? Top Chef 101. Tom Colicchio would go ballistic.
  • Kenny & Ed: Korean chili-rubbed Ahi tuna, Cucumber & Mango Slaw , Multi-grain bread. Sounds healthy and yummy! Looks so spicy too. My kind of sandwich.
  • Kelly & Arnold: Curry-rubbed grilled chicken, honey & sambal, cucumber, mint, dill & cilantro. I love the idea of this. I want to taste this!
  • Tiffany & Lynne: Flatbread saltimbocca, goat cheese, artichokes, peppers and white asparagus
• And…. Bottom twins are the lacking in creativity Stephen & Jacqueline, the saltimbocca of Tiffany & Lynne that didn’t have a good texture. Top twins are Tracy & Angelo with their bright and lovely sandwich, Kenny & Ed for their flavorful, beautifully seared fish.
• The winning bipartisandwich is Angelo’s and Tracy’s! They now get immunity.
• Elimination challenge! Create a healthy school lunch with a budget of 2.60 per child
• They break into teams and off to Restaurant Depot!
• Sherry? Can kids eat chicken braised in alcohol? C’mon Amanda.
• BORING BORING. Thank goodness it’s Tom walking down the school halls. Yey!
• Okay the dishes.
  • Team 1: Picnic coleslaw with yogurt, grilled aple cider bbq chicken (mmm), mac and cheese with whole wheat crust , skim milk and low fat cheese (wow), fresh melon kebab and orange chantilly dipped in yogurt. Healthy, delicious, simple. I like this menu!
  • Team 2: Chicken Burger with Fiesta Rice, Peanut butter and celery crudite (is peanut butter healthy?), Sweet Potato puree with cinnamon (that’s it? Looks like baby food without anything else), apple bread pudding with cinnamon yogurt. Where’s the vegetables, Chef Kass asks.
  • Team 3: Black Bean Cake and crispy sweet potatoes, braised pork carnitas tacos with pickled onions and cilantro, roasted corn salad with cilantro, lime vinaigrette and chili oil, caramelized sweet potatoes and sherbet
  • Team 4: Braised chicken thigh in sherry jus, sweet onion rice with tomato, carrot and green onions, bean & tomato salad, pickled red onions and apple cider vinaigrette, banana pudding with skim milk and strawberries
• Angelo’s and Amanda’s team get called in first. I sense this is the loser round.
• Amanda’s team doesn’t have money to buy good dessert ingredients, but they have budget for sherry. Tsk tsk. She says she cooked with sherry because she likes it. Dumb answer.
• Tomato is a fruit, Chef Kass shares. Can Chef Kass be a regular judge on the show please?
• AND THE WINNER IS… Kelly’s team! And she wins for her yummy tacos.
• Bottom 4: Amanda, Jacqueline, Kenny, Ed. I think Amanda’s going home because of the liquor. Duh.
• Oh, it’s Jacqueline.

Yeah I know, not much energy in this entry. I just found the episode really boring!

The dish I would love to have tasted? None really. Maybe the taco set from the winning team.

I hope next episode is MUCH better.

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.