Minicap: Top Chef Masters

There”s enough romance in this episode to choke a unicorn, Gasmii, and I loved every drippy minute of it!  Well, the Quickfire wasn’t so much romantic as it was sexual – equal parts sensual and frustrating.  It’s the tasting challenge with a twist – the chefs are only allowed to use one sense at a time, except sight.  They have to taste without smelling (lame and impossible), they have to hear (things like Rice Krispies and celery), smell and touch.  Hugh and Mary Sue are the only ones who make it to the final round, and since Mary Sue’s mom was deaf and was thus never able to teach her daughter how to hear food properly, Hugh takes it in a 3-0 sweep.  It’s not as sweet a win as it could be, though, because this week, immunity is gone, baby, gone.  I would have cared more if Celina had finally managed to win a Quickfire, but alas, she was out in the third round.  The mediocrity endures…

The Elimination Challenge is where it gets interesting.  Guy meets girl.  Guy dates girl for four years.  Guy answers an ad on the internet and thus decides to propose on “Top Chef Masters.”  The chefs are tasked with each creating a portion of a six-course menu highlighting moments in the couple’s relationship.  Hugh has a lot of fun quips about how he wants to vomit in his mouth at all the sentiment, which probably contributes to him getting knocked into the bottom along with Traci and Celina.  I cannot tell you how hard my heart was beating at the prospect of Celina managing to blackball an awesome chef AGAIN.

Luckily, she didn’t, and finally, FINALLY went home for plating a pretzel and a salad and calling it romantic.  Which it was, in fact, since the couple talked about how they loved going to hockey games and getting pretzels together, but this is “Top Chef Masters.” This was an episode of “Top Chef Masters” that Gael Greene was judging.  And you do not force Gael Greene to eat pretzels and live to fight another day.

Check back Friday for the full recap!