‘Top Chef’ season 21 episode 10 recap: A little blood and a lot of fire on the beach in ‘Door County Fish Boil’
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Last week on “Top Chef” in “The Good Land,” the cheftestants had to honor Native American ingredients and cuisine, which limited the types of ingredients they were allowed to use. In the end the judges eliminated two of them based on that challenge and based on how the chefs had done in that week’s Quickfire: Laura Ozyilmaz and Amanda Turner. That leaves six competitors on the main show (with at least one set to return soon from “Last Chance Kitchen”) competing for a chance to win a feature in Food and Wine magazine; an appearance at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado; and $250,000 in prize money: Soo Ahn, Manny Barella, Danny Garcia, Dan Jacobs, Savannah Miller and Michelle Wallace. So what happened in “Door County Fish Boil”?
“I miss home so much,” says Michelle at the start of the episode, and being in the bottom last week makes her question her mental toughness. Last week’s challenge winner Laura is also feeling homesick: “I’m really excited to see my family. I haven’t really been away from home this long,” she explains. But “I feel like I am finally making some waves here. I have turned something on, and I think it’s dangerous.” Like, threat-to-win dangerous, or threat-to-life-and-property dangerous? Either way, being shown talking about how much you miss home is often a good way to foreshadow that you are in fact going home, so we’ll see if these prove to be fateful words for either of these chefs, or for Soo, who says, “I’m definitely starting to miss my wife. Hopefully she still loves me when I come back.”
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Quickfire Challenge
“It’s a meat raffle,” says host Kristen Kish. “Oh shit,” Dan reacts. Kristen introduces this week’s guest judge, two-times James Beard Award winner Art Smith, whom Michelle describes as a “fancy Santa Claus.” Art will be overseeing this meat raffle. He spins the big Bingo cage and out comes the first name: Manny. The chef comes up and picks the ribeye from the selection of meats on the table. Then Dan (chateaubriand), Michelle (ground chicken), Savannah (corned beef, which everyone thinks is pretty “ballsy”), Danny (lamb) and finally Soo (luncheon meat). Nobody picks the bologna, though. What is it, chopped liver? … No, seriously, what actually is bologna made of anyway?
For this challenge, there are 30 minutes on the clock and $10,000 up for grabs, and once again this Quickfire will help the judges decide who stays and who goes at the end of the Elimination Challenge. As they begin cooking, Manny explains he’s so comfortable with red meat that he could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “I’m surprised I haven’t got the gout,” he says. Meanwhile, Savannah admits that canned corned beef is reminiscent of dog food, so elevating that is gonna be … interesting. Soo has a humble, unglamorous meat, so he’s going to glam it up with the ingredients around it. Michelle is in a race against time. She doesn’t think there’s any chance she’ll get her fried chicken nuggets finished. “It’s not looking good for your girl.” But five minutes later time is up, and whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.
Danny: Za’atar Spiced Lamb Rack, Jimmy Nardello Harissa Relish, Labneh, Mint
Dan: Sichuan Chateaubriand Noodle Dumpling
Michelle: Jerk Chicken Nugget, Black Bean Puree, Pickled Mango Salsa (chicken is raw so Kristen’s not even gonna eat it)
Soo: Dosirak with Luncheon Meat, Marinated Egg, Jasmine Rice and Brussels Sprouts
Savannah: Crispy Corned Beef and Beet Salad, Creme Fraiche and Picked Celery
Manny: Wagyu Ribeye Aguachile, Serrano Chiles Toreados, Onion and Cilantro Relish
“It’s not about winning, it’s about being remembered. You’re all memorable,” Art tells them in the end, which sounds like kind of a backhanded compliment, the kind of thing you say when you can’t think of anything nice to say. But the actual best dishes belong to Soo (good rice, silky eggs, nice little treasures throughout) and Savannah (Tom Colicchio was surprised what she did with the canned meat). And the winner is Savannah! “I think I’m on a little bit of a roll here,” says Savannah. It’s her second challenge win in a row, so she has certainly hit her stride. You’re only ever as good as your last dish on “Top Chef,” so there will be no resting on her laurels, but she’s peaking at the right time.
The losing dishes for this Quickfire, though, belonged to Manny (too much acid in the aguachile, so it overpowered the flavor of the meat), Michelle (a lot of batter, more than she needed, and oh yeah, raw chicken), Danny (meat was over-rested, as he had suspected, which robbed the meat of some of its juiciness) and Dan (needed more meat in the center for the thickness of the noodle, and everything ate dry).
Elimination Challenge
“Who’s ready to set this competition on fire?” Kristen asks them. Manny sheepishly raises his hand. Kristen then tells them to change into something more comfortable and meet the judges out back. When they get there they find six “Top Chef” All-Stars waiting for them: Gregory Gourdet (“Top Chef: Boston” and “All-Stars L.A.”), Sara Bradley (“Top Chef: Kentucky” and “World All-Stars”), Shota Nakajima (“Top Chef: Portland”), Justin Sutherland (“Top Chef: Kentucky”), Mei Lin (“Top Chef: Boston”) and Jeremy Ford (“Top Chef: California”). “This is madness,” says Soo.
“I’m guessing that a lot of you have already heard of fish fry or a crab boil,” says Kristen, “but have you ever heard of a fish boil?” Dan has, and he doesn’t like it. “Fish boiling goes against everything I’ve ever been taught as a chef,” he declares. Kristen continues, “You’ll each be putting on your own fish boil … for 100 diners along with Art and the All-Stars.” Everyone will be provided with the same white fish, and it needs to be served with two sides. At the end of your fish boil, you generally throw a can of kerosene into the fire to create a huge fireball that makes the kettle boil over so everything inside comes out clean. They demonstrate the conflagration right then and there, and everyone gets to taste how the fish came out. Dan’s still not into it, which I’m worried about since he’s going to have to actually do this for other people.
But there’s yet another twist. The six All-Stars will be doing the shopping for the six cheftestants. “I’m trying to figure out whose side they’re on,” Michelle wonders. “Are they on our side, or are they on the judges’ side.” I’m thinking sabotage is less than likely, though. After all, the All-Stars actually have to eat what the chefs cook, so it’s in their best interest not to poison themselves. Savannah won the last elimination challenge, so she gets to pick her All-Star (she goes with Shota, whom she seems a little star-struck over). The others draw knives to determine which cheftestant they’re paired with. The pairings end up as follows:
Shota –> Savannah
Gregory –> Soo
Mei –> Manny
Sara –> Michelle
Justin –> Danny
Jeremy –> Dan
The All-Stars each have $500 and 30 minutes to shop at Whole Foods, but the chefs won’t know what ingredients they have to work with until the fish boil tomorrow. Then they’ll have two-and-a-half hours to prep and cook before meal service. But they do get a whole five minutes to confer with their All-Stars before they go shopping, so they won’t be flying totally blind. Just mostly blind. After the chefs share their visions, the All-Stars do their thing, and the shopping seems to go smoothly, but we honestly won’t know until it’s time to cook. There might be a lot of pivoting happening. Michelle is especially worried because she’s already at a deficit. Her Quickfire dish wasn’t good, so she has no room for error in the Elimination Challenge. Indeed, last week there was a double elimination, and Michelle was spared precisely because she did so well during the Quickfire.
The morning comes and it’s time to inspect the ingredients. Danny thinks Justin did perfectly, got him everything he wanted — and a bath bomb too. Dan also seems thrilled. Manny might be stuck making his own tortillas, though, and he doesn’t think there’s nearly enough time for that. And when cooking starts and Savannah starts deboning her fish, she gives her hand a nasty cut with the knife. New game plan: debone the fish later. That shakes her confidence, though, and the pain is significant. “It feels like my brain’s not connecting to the rest of my body.” Elsewhere, Soo was expecting Thai curry paste, but Gregory got him spicy curry powder, so that will require a bit of a pivot. When he was a kid he was a “rule-follower” with a strict tiger mom, but now he loves taking risks. Gregory is worried, however, that Soo didn’t have enough of a clear plan going into shopping, so now he’ll need to focus and edit himself so he’s not trying to do everything at once.
Everyone is dealing with the elements. There’s sand everywhere on the beach, the wind is blowing. The chefs are constantly having to carry wood to keep their fires going. Dan thinks it’s the most physically demanding challenge yet, but there’s nothing he can do but try to cope. The diners arrive, marching across the beach like they’re storming Normandy.
Meal Service
Danny: Sofrito Boil, Salsa Verde, Carrot Slaw, French Bean and Bonito Salad
His fish is cooked perfectly, says Mei, and got a lot of flavor from the broth, salsa verde complements it very well. The salad is “stunning,” according to Gregory. “This salad is good enough to steal,” claims Art.
Savannah: Kimchi Gochujang Boil, Baby Potatos, Smashed Tofu Salad
She’s a little worried because her potatoes came out flavorless, which makes her unsure about how her fish will turn out. Tom thinks the fish is bland. Kristen calls it overcooked. But the potatoes were actually creamy and delicious. Everything kind of “disintegrated” in the salad, says Gail Simmons. Definitely a bottom dish, but having such a successful Quickfire might save her, along with the mitigating factor of her injury.
Soo: Pineapple Curry Fish Boil, Fish Sauce Beurre Blanc, Twice-Cooked Potatoes, Crispy Corn Miso Slaw
The corn is raw. Nothing about the slaw looked appetizing. “The top is really mushy,” according to Tom. The fish is cooked nicely, but it feels very disconnected. The pineapple butter sauce is excellent, however.
Dan: Red Curry Boil, Coconut and Herb Slaw with Peanuts, Fingerlings with Duck Fat and Shira Dashi Oil
The fish is perfectly cooked and the broth imparted a lot of flavor. The potatoes were an afterthought and needed more spice. Sounds like the slaw was successful, though.
Michelle: Cajun Boil, Charred Corn and Kale Salad, Potatoes with Sausage, Peach and Garlic Butter Sauce
Tom compliments the cook of the fish and the Cajun spice. The potato successfully took on the taste of the sausage. Gail thinks all the components told a clear story. Best reviews so far. At this point it seems like the win is between her and Danny, while Soo and Savannah are in the most trouble.
Manny: Mexican Boil, Tostadas with Guacamole, Mexican White Rice with Corn and Chipotle Lime Butter
Well-cooked fish, complements the rice nicely. And Manny was the only person to give a piece of citrus to squeeze on the fish. But is it too simple? The sides are just guacamole and rice. Justin thinks it was too safe.
SEE‘Top Chef’ spoilers: Who was eliminated in season 21 of Bravo competition series?
Chef’s Table
The chefs return to the lounge after a “brutal” challenge. Savannah’s back and stitched up following her accidental stabbing. But she knows she didn’t put out her best food, so she hopes her Quickfire will save her.
Michelle, Danny and Dan are called up first as unsurprisingly the best chefs of the challenge. Michelle is thrilled to get out of her mini-slump after a couple of challenges went sideways for her. Dan can’t believe he’s in the top when he didn’t even like the concept of a fish boil. But the winner is … Danny! He is undoubtedly a front-runner to win the whole competition. He hasn’t been at the bottom for a single Elimination Challenge this season yet.
Manny, Savannah and Soo are the bottom three. It’s not looking good for Manny since he had a poor dish in the Quickfire Challenge, while Savannah and Soo were the only ones praised for their Quickfire dishes. But to my surprise it’s Soo who ends up eliminated. Manny is saved by the fact that while his dish lacked originality and ambition, it had good flavors and a clear point of view. But Soo got through “Last Chance Kitchen” once, and he only has two chefs to get through to get back in this time.
“At this point in the competition there’s no such thing as a bad day, and I just didn’t have my A-game today,” says Soo in his exit interview. “It’s disappointing, but I gave it my all, and I’m proud of that. And now there is a roster of talented chefs waiting for me in ‘Last Chance Kitchen.’ I’m ready baby.”
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