Top Chef Masters: Finale RECAP Guts and Glory

Top Chef

By MisRed | Friday, September 28, 2012 | 12:29 pm | 17 Comments
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Posted in: Recaps, Top Chef

Critics comments: sensual, “this is the make-up sex,” went a little too far, sexy and “apology accepted.”

COURSE THREE: Thank you
There are some problems. Kerry’s mustard greens are too bitter, so he uses the hand blender on them to give them an attitude adjustment. Chris has cold plates, so he and Manny are blasting them one by one in the oven.
 

Chris is a “Gut Man” thanks to his grandmother. He has made Trippa Napolitana.

Chris’s Thank you

Critics comments: wow, extraordinary and John Curtas doesn’t like “the skid mark.”

Kerry’s dish is to his family: Branzino with Clam Ragout and Mustard Greens

Kerry’s Thank you

Critics comments: beautifully cooked, but least expressive of all the dishes.

COURSE FOUR: Letter to Yourself
Chris says this about getting “back to basics.” He is proud and hopes the dish is amazing for the critics. He has elements of air, land and sea on one plate. He says it would be “the best way to be put in the ground.” Chris’s dish is all about himself as a person. Chris’s dish is: A sunny side up Egg, Blood Sausage, Poached Oysters, and Herb Salad.

Chris’s Letter To Yourself

Critics comments: Bold. John Curtas said “It is embarassingly bad. He should have brought his A game.”

Bourdain proclaimed “Lazy Eater” John Curtas (sorry, that was the nicest thing Bourdain has to say about this guy)

Francis Lam rebutted “This is the best thing I’ve eaten in 30 years.”

It’s like I’m swimming in the ocean and a pig is giving me a backrub

(As for John Curtas, I know I’m biased and Team Chris, but for him to think a perfectly cooked egg is not “A game,” makes me question his knowledge and whether or not he has any cooking experience. Cooking a sunny side-up egg, perfectly, for 24 people is one of the most difficult things to do (so are GOOD french fries). To cook it without a trace of scorch and to keep that white soft while getting the yolk cooked, but still runny… is a feat. I spent and entire day in Culinary School cooking egg after egg, after egg, after egg. And I still struggle with it. Google “John Curtas Anthony Bourdain” if you want to see what Bourdain thinks of this guy. Get ready for some bad language)

Kerry’s dish is about who he is right now. About having something great and allowing yourself to enjoy it. (Which is something we, as humans, don’t do enough of- enjoying the moment. Allow yourself to bask in the glory of something good without dress rehearsing a tragedy in your mind. Can you tell I’ve thought about this topic?) Kerry has made: Dry Aged “Cote de Boeuf,” Short Ribs with Swiss Chard and Fennel Gratin.

Kerry’s Letter to Yourself

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MisRed
About

Misred is an East Coast Gal and a jack of all trades.  Project Manager, Trained Chef, Amateur Writer, Professional Mocker, Devoted Wife and Mother of Furry Kids (dogs, not werewolves).  I spend my time doing all of the above, as well as making the necessary preparations for my eventual and eternal damnation in the fiery pits of hell.  I take comfort in knowing I'll have friends there... like Satan.

Check out my blog www.meabritapitandanitwit.wordpress.com

17 Comments

  1. 1
    timgunnssister timgunnssister
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 2:05 pm

    YAY! And may I say YAYAYAYAYAYAY!

  2. 2
    roger
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    too bad the final wasn’t to cook for the posche fashion show. YEAH for chris, he seemed to me a very helpful competitor all season~i thought the problems with art were all on art. the TC MASTERS have another nice-guy winner to join bayleaf, mary sue, and floyd cardozo. marcus samuelson, not so nice but obviously a great chef. yeah takashi for fan favorite. an enjoyable season; thanks for the excellent recaps.

  3. 3
    sagittariuskim sagittariuskim
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 4:47 pm

    YAY Chris! And Yay Takashi.

    I watched Watch What Happens Live afterwards. And Andy revealed that Fan Favorite was a tie between Takashi and Lorena at the beginning of the show and asked who would win. And Daddy Tom asked if it was sponsored by Taco Bell.

  4. 4
    mmmbuttery
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    Mmmany thanks MisRed!!

    And mmmucho congrats to Cosentino – a truly lovely human being inside and out (seriously – he and his food are scrumptious!!)

    mmm

  5. 5
    Val Detinha
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    @sagittariuskim Really? Too funny LOL! I can’t imagine who was voting for Lorena!

    Thank you for the recaps, MisRed! Loved all the food porn! J-Mo would have a field day!, like you had with Stone! ;) I’m so glad Chris won!

  6. 6
    AliceinPopLand
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    How smug did Kerry look in the Whine Room? Just me?

  7. 7
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted September 28, 2012 at 11:23 pm

    I feared Kerry would win, even though I came around to liking him. I think it was easy to paint him in a sullen light because he seems introverted and didn’t have a natural ally on the show, but he also seemed to hang with the original gang of four (Chris, Patricia, Thierry and Takashi) as their unofficial fifth.

    The TC franchise tends to want to reward the risky chefs, and are willing to allow some minor imperfections from someone like Chris. Although if John Curtas’ dumbassery gets cut out it seemed a lot closer. Regardless I’m happy Chris and his funny little butcher’s apron won. He seems like such a lovely person.

    And now that’s two winners in a row (Paul Qui on original recipe TC and Chris) who were just so damn likeable that they reminded me why this is my favorite reality show.

    But I’m so glad for Chris

  8. 8
    bubblesballentine
    Posted September 29, 2012 at 8:54 am

    Congrats to Chris, he really earned it! And another big yay for takashi!

    Lorena who?

  9. 9
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted September 29, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Yayy!!
    I was scared because of the way that the critics were talking about the food, but I’m glad that the right person won.
    Also, if I get married, I hope my husband will like me as much as Chris likes his wife. He was seriously cute, going on about how awesome his wife was and then tearing up at the table about how he isn’t at home enough.
    Kerry says that he likes his wife, but he gets side-eye from me for continuously mentioning showgirls and that crack about thinking Curtis’ suite was Dita von Teese’s. And frankly, I think his lack of emotion in this challenge was weird. This was supposed to be a personal challenge, and you can tell that he conceived his dishes and then tried to force them into the context of the challenge. If he had won, I would have had to smash everything I own.

    Also super happy that Takashi won fan favorite.
    Maybe Taco Bell threatened all their employees to make them vote for Lorena for fan favorite.
    I refuse to believe that people could like her as much as they like the adorable Takashi-san.

    And thank you for the recaps, MisRed!
    It was especially awesome to get your insights and knowledge as a person who understands chef-y things.
    Revolution should be pretty interesting. *moseys over*

  10. 10
    zerocool
    Posted September 30, 2012 at 11:56 am

    It did seem that Kerry was just phoning it in – he even said that he picked four courses and figured out how they could fit in the challenge. Happy that Chris won.

  11. 11
    John Curtas
    Posted October 1, 2012 at 11:58 am

    I love Francis Lam, but watching him strain to be poetic over a plebian breakfast plate was painful.
    .
    Yes, I said “breakfast plate.” This was Top Chef Masters fer chrissakes, and your finale dish should show more skill and creativity than sausage and frickin’ eggs. (Your “perfectly cooked fried eggs for 24 people” analogy will have every fry cook in the land laughing with disdain.)
    .
    . And for what it’s worth, I’ll put my food chops up against a glorified fry cook like Bourdain anyday….but I do LOVE his show….and admire him for leaping to his wife’s defense when I called her out for her defamatory comments about Las Vegas. As a human being though, he’s a putz.
    .
    (BTW: Chris deserved to win, as his dishes were the strongest overall, but sausage, eggs and oysters….COME ON ALREADY! ;-} )

    .
    And finally, thanks for the post. Very entertaining. It’s always fun to start a passionate debate with articulate, civilized people…unlike glorified fry cooks.

  12. 12
    MisRed MisRed
    Posted October 1, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    Mr. Curtas, I appreciate that you took the time to read my stupid little recap and made a comment.

    Yes, any fry cook can cook an egg, but not the egg I saw. Have you cooked in a restaurant kitchen? I have. I also graduated first in my class from Culinary School. I, by no means, imply that I am in, remotely, the same league as these chefs or even as your average fry cooks, but I know that cooking and egg properly is not as simple as you make it sound. (An egg is much less forgiving than a hunk of steak.)
    With all due respect, you are, obviously, a respected critic, but if you think all eggs are the same, you are wrong.
    And it wasn’t Jimmy Dean brown-n-serve sausage- it was handmade sausage. That in itself is hugely difficult to do in 6 hours.

    I can’t walk into any diner and get that dish and for you to imply that you can is laughable.
    Love,
    MisRed xo

  13. 13
    Al Mancini
    Posted October 4, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    MisRed-

    As someone who has struggled to write three books with John, I can tell you his response is typical. He has a one-track mind when it comes to food. If it isn’t haute cuisine, he isn’t interested. (He also pretend to like obscure Asian food, but that’s just to impress our other co-author, Max Jacobson.) I’ve heard world-class chefs say that cooking a perfect egg is one of the most difficult challenges in cooking. But unless you add caviar to it a la Joel Robuchon, John isn’t impressed!

  14. 14
    MisRed MisRed
    Posted October 5, 2012 at 7:28 am

    Al- Oh wow. I’ve only been exposed to him for a short period of time… you must be a saint. I don’t understand how someone who is so close-minded about food is a food critic!!

    Well the old saying is true, I guess: those who can’t do- teach. and those who can’t teach- criticize.

    Thank you for your comment!!
    xox,
    MisRed

  15. 15
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted October 6, 2012 at 10:52 pm

    I’m so happy that I randomly decided to check the comments on this.
    The shade of it all.

  16. 16
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted October 6, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    And I’m glad I rejoined to enjoy a good LaTRICE Royale reference.

    And to see that MisRed’s avatar is the divine Endora. Perfect.

  17. 17
    sagittariuskim sagittariuskim
    Posted October 7, 2012 at 1:11 am

    Why do so many people equate simple with easy? Things that are simple are the easiest things to mess up. And I rather have a simple plate of eggs than a plate of pretentiousness. Sometimes simple is best. There’s a reason that all the dishes considered classics are simple.

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