Our favorite best-friends trio of Begona Rodrigo, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Luciana Berry were cut down to a duo on the last episode of Top Chef. The chefs found themselves in teams of three and competing at the famous Tottenham Hotspur football stadium. In the end, Begona, Gabriel, and Luciana had to compete against one another cooking with peas. Although Luciana had the best-cooked peas, her dish lacked pea flavor so she was sent home.
Padma Lakshmi and guest judge chef Adam Handling greeted the chefs with their next quickfire challenge. The cheftestants were tasked with creating a celebratory dish using mead and honey. Mead is one of those drinks that everybody has heard of but nobody has had it. Padma shared random Wiki facts about mead and then the chefs were off!
You Got What I Mead
Victoire Gouloubi was shocked that mead tasted sweet and thought it would be more of a vinegar flavor. Sara Bradley immediately proved my mead theory wrong and admitted she had been drunk off of mead before. Sara decided to make chilled cucumber and melon soup because she has kids. Sounds like a creative way to get those veggies in!
Amar Santana was the opposite. His son loves sweet dishes so he decided to make pancakes with fried chicken. Yes, please. Sylvia Stachyra swapped out her usual russet potato and used sweet potatoes instead for her dumplings. Tom Goetter decided to make duck because that is what’s served at German weddings since ducks only choose one partner in their life. Awww.
At judging, Nicole Gomes’ attempt at a trifle failed and landed her in the bottom three. It was too sweet and soupy for the judges. Amar’s dish was also too sweet, and Sylvia had good flavors but lacked execution. Charbel Hayek won the judges over with his honey squash, and Victoire mastered flavor and balance with her shrimp dish. Only one chef can win immunity, and that chef was Tom! Good thing Tom didn’t go rogue this time and stuck within the rules of the challenge.
The Dreaded Holiday Potluck
Top Chef Mexico judge Martha Ortiz stepped out to join Padma and fill in the chefs on their elimination challenge. The chefs will be sent to a vacation home in the country where they will need to cook a family holiday feast. They’ll also have to share a budget. Which meant Gabriel couldn’t hog all the money for his four hundred mole ingredients. Buddha Lo was worried that everyone was making heavy dishes and there was no progression with the meal. Tom decided to take one for the team and cook dessert since he had immunity. Just don’t use that liquid nitrogen.
At Whole Foods, the chefs start describing the different holidays which will inspire their dishes. Gabriel will be doing Day of the Dead, and Begona a Christmas meal. Buddha’s concerns were coming to light as everyone’s dishes are all over the map for this holiday challenge. There is no cohesion. The chefs did score a win though as they stayed within budget and even had a little leftover to purchase some tequila. Bottoms up!
Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen
The chefs were impressed with their vacation home. It’s cozy but large and came with a sizable kitchen. Sara noticed it felt calmer than their regular kitchen and Gabriel said he was less stressed. Famous last words! They obviously weren’t paying attention to the fact there were only four burners for the whole group.
Before chaos ensued, everyone shared stories about their family and the dishes they like to cook during the holidays. Both Gabriel and Begona struggled during the holidays due to the loss of their family members. Buddha always worked during Christmas, but now celebrated the holiday with his wife and her family. And Sara celebrates Hanukkah with her family.
The holiday cheer felt among the group soon dissipated as the need for oven space and burners arose. Tom put off baking his cake due to a lack of oven space, and Nicole ran around looking for a burner to appear out of thin air. Amar was worried his lamb would be dry. Victoire seemed to be the only calm one in the group as she happily simmered her bean stew and likened it to Wakanda.
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Fancy Family Style
The next morning the chefs had two hours to finish their dishes. Amar was happy with how his lamb turned out, and Tom managed to bake his cake. The entire group then sat down with the judges: Padma, Martha, Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio to enjoy their family feast.
First up was Sylvia with a white borscht soup, and then came Victoire’s bean stew. Both were winners in terms of flavor for the group. Gabriel served sea bass with mole verde, and Ali Ghzawi made a lamb kebab with grilled salad and flatbread. Both dishes looked delicious. Padma confirmed as much when she chatted that the silence was a good sign.
Even family style, Buddha managed to make a fancy-looking dish of salmon tarator with pearl couscous garnished with sumac, chili, nuts, and grapes. He definitely put those tweezers to work. Nicole served a five-spice pork belly with greens which got rave reviews from Padma. Sara made creamed greens with brisket gravy and somehow tied that to a story of her grandpa making her dad cut down a tree which then sent him to the hospital. Don’t ask.
Begona steered away from her veggie-forward direction and made a “leftover” stew of chicken, vegetables, and peanut sauce. Charbel made an eggplant fatteh with tomato and onion concasse, friend eggplant, tahini yogurt, and crispy pita. Amar proudly served his braised lamb shank with prunes, cinnamon, and sweet onions. And finally, Tom served his apple cake with pastry cream. Gail noted she needed three stomachs to enjoy all the food.
The Family Favorite
The judges had a tough decision but quickly called out Victoire, Ali, and Amar as the favorites. They all cooked well-seasoned, celebratory dishes. Only one can win, and that was Amar! He took a risk braising those lamb shanks overnight but it totally paid off.
Shockingly, Begona, Gabriel, and Buddha ended up in the bottom three. That’s two times in a row for Begona and Gabriel! The judges thought Buddha had too much going on and his salmon was under-seasoned. Martha noted that the individual components of Gabriel’s dish were good but they didn’t work together. And Begona’s chicken was dry. Sadly, Begona got the boot, but she will have a chance to come back into the competition next week with Last Chance Kitchen!
TELL US – WERE YOU SURPRISED BEGONA AND GABRIEL WERE IN THE BOTTOM AGAIN? WHICH FAMILY-STYLE DISH WAS YOUR FAVORITE? HAVE YOU EVER TRIED MEAD?
[Photo by: Bravo Media]
