Episode 10: Lock Down
Pamda with Telly, the Cookie Monster, and Elmo
Fan favorite Fabio has now been eliminated, and the cheftestants are headed to Target! Lock Down aired on February 16, 2011. Last week, Carla won with her chicken pot pie, and Dale T was on the bottom for over seasoning his dish while Tiffany faced the bottom for southwestern spices in her dumpling. Now we are left with seven chefs, and the stakes are increasing.
Quickfire Challenge
Richard Blaise and Elmo
The chef's guest judges are......the muppets! Elmo and cookie monster appeared with Padma in the Top Chef kitchen. The chefs' challenge is simple: they will bake cookies for Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Telly from Sesame Street. The chefs all get excited. Richard's kids would love the cookie monster, and so would Antonia's daughter.
Dale T. grabs potato chips and again pretzels. Salty cookies? We'll see. Carla's doing chocolate chip cookies....that sounds difficult and special (not). Richard is excited to show his kids the video of himself cooking for Elmo, but he's putting zucchini in an ice cream cookie. What???
Here are the cookies the chefs prepared:
Dale T. made Pretzel and Potato Chip Shortbread Cookie with Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganac
Antonia made Double Chocolate Cookie with White Chocolate Chips, Fresh Caramel Glaze, and Sprinkles
Mike made Almond and Dried Cherry Cookie with Rose Petal Sugar
Carla made Chocolate Chip Cookie with Cinnamon
Tiffany made Shortbread Cookie with Lemon Zest, Rosemary, Thyme, and Coconut Milk
Richard made Ice Cream Cookie with Chocolate Chips, Zucchini, and Mint
Angelo made Chocolate Chip, Belgian Hazelnut Cookie with a Chocolate Banana Milkshake
The muppets happily tasted the cookies. They put Richard's on the bottom for the zucchini and Angelo's on the bottom for the milkshake. Now for the top. The muppets liked Dale's savory chip and pretzel cookie and Antonia's double chocolate cookie (even though Elmo said they looked like cow chips). And the winner is.........Dale T! Congrats, and you get $5,000! But no immunity in the elimination challenge......
Dale T. grabs potato chips and again pretzels. Salty cookies? We'll see. Carla's doing chocolate chip cookies....that sounds difficult and special (not). Richard is excited to show his kids the video of himself cooking for Elmo, but he's putting zucchini in an ice cream cookie. What???
Here are the cookies the chefs prepared:
Dale T. made Pretzel and Potato Chip Shortbread Cookie with Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganac
Antonia made Double Chocolate Cookie with White Chocolate Chips, Fresh Caramel Glaze, and Sprinkles
Mike made Almond and Dried Cherry Cookie with Rose Petal Sugar
Carla made Chocolate Chip Cookie with Cinnamon
Tiffany made Shortbread Cookie with Lemon Zest, Rosemary, Thyme, and Coconut Milk
Richard made Ice Cream Cookie with Chocolate Chips, Zucchini, and Mint
Angelo made Chocolate Chip, Belgian Hazelnut Cookie with a Chocolate Banana Milkshake
The muppets happily tasted the cookies. They put Richard's on the bottom for the zucchini and Angelo's on the bottom for the milkshake. Now for the top. The muppets liked Dale's savory chip and pretzel cookie and Antonia's double chocolate cookie (even though Elmo said they looked like cow chips). And the winner is.........Dale T! Congrats, and you get $5,000! But no immunity in the elimination challenge......
Elimination Challenge
Dale Talde throwing a fit at Target
Padma announced the elimination challenge, which was to cook a meal at a Target store using only ingredients and cooking supplies from the store. They had 3 hours to shop and cook at Target. They would be serving both the judges and 100 Target employees at 3:00 in the morning. They judges mentioned that the employee of the month didn't have to wake up 2:30 AM to
taste a bunch of mediocre dishes.
This challenge is interesting because the chefs can make almost anything, as long as they buy the ingredients at Target. Which are not what one would call advanced or...... ohhh.....good.
Soon after the chef's arrival in the store, everyone's done with shopping and cooking already. That is all except Carla, whose slowly but surely shopping her way around the store to buy the ingredients to her soup. And of course, she needs to make her station look nice and clean...oh wait no she doesn't. She needs to COOK!!!!
taste a bunch of mediocre dishes.
This challenge is interesting because the chefs can make almost anything, as long as they buy the ingredients at Target. Which are not what one would call advanced or...... ohhh.....good.
Soon after the chef's arrival in the store, everyone's done with shopping and cooking already. That is all except Carla, whose slowly but surely shopping her way around the store to buy the ingredients to her soup. And of course, she needs to make her station look nice and clean...oh wait no she doesn't. She needs to COOK!!!!
Angelo Sosa shops
But cooking is a mess. Everyone seems to be doing a soup. We see Angelo seeking aid from Mike, asking him for a can opener and to taste his soup. Antonia mocked everyone for making soup, stating that there just isn't the time. But when she does she's cracking about a thousand eggs slowly but surely. Mike tasted Angelo's soup and said it could have used more salt, and so Angelo dumps way too much salt into the bowl, and bacon as well. Thanks for the suggestion, Mike.
As service actually gets up and running, here is what each chef ended up preparing:
Richard made Pork Tenderloin with Green Chilies, Apples, Braised Pork Ribs, and Corn Pancakes
Dale T. made Ribeye Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Tomato Soup
Mike made Spicy Coconut Soup with Mushrooms, Scallions, and Lime
Angelo made Baked Potato Soup with Bacon, Onions, Sour Cream, Potato Skins, Scallions, and Grated Cheddar Cheese
Antonia made Parmesan Cream Eggs with Almonds, Tomato, Apple and a Garlic Crustini
Carla made Curry Apple Soup with Tomato Ginger Jam, and Cucumber Apple Slaw
Tiffany made Jambalaya with Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp with a Summer Salad
Padma introduced the chefs to Bourdain (whom they know very well) and guest judge Ming Tsai along with Thomas O'Brien, the home designer for Target. Tsai said that Dale's "ironed grilled cheese sandwich" was an attempt to win Iron Chef! Get it?
There are all good reviews about Dale's spicy tomato soup too. Anthony Bourdain called all of this "perfect stoner food." But let's just remember that Dale only made a cheese sandwich and tomato soup, nothing more and nothing special. When Angelo served his soup, our suspicions about over seasoning were confirmed. His soup was called "inedibly salty." But Dale survived this flaw last week, so will Angelo pass through now? And thanks for the advice about under seasoning, Mike. But Mike's dish wasn't a hit either, for after one bite Padma said she's had enough already. Major disappointment. Carla's soup was missing some major components, so that didn't go over big either. Maybe that's because she didn't start cooking until she set up her station neatly. Despite having so many eggs, the judges liked Antonia's parmesan cream eggs. The flavors and components went together well. Richard's dish was the last favorite, as his pork tenderloin was not a soup and it kept having employees going back for more. No one was too crazy about Tiffany's spin-off of a jambalaya, it was simply lacking and the flavor was dampened by heavy spices Tiffany used from Target. Of course pedestrian spices sold at Target aren't going to work!
Through nervousness, the three women began playing with stuffed animals from the toy isle. Tiffany's loud southern laugh seemed to piss Dale off, and he said that she hasn't won anything, so why is she here? Since you brought it up, Dale, let's remember that when you won, Susur Lee went biast and gave the Asian chef the win for the Asian challenge. But Tiffany should have won, all the way. And also, you've been on the bottom for the last two challenges, Dale, and Tiffany was only on the bottom last week. So that shows she's more steady and you're just all over the map.
So everyone heads to judges table, and I'm assuming it's the next morning.......
As service actually gets up and running, here is what each chef ended up preparing:
Richard made Pork Tenderloin with Green Chilies, Apples, Braised Pork Ribs, and Corn Pancakes
Dale T. made Ribeye Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Tomato Soup
Mike made Spicy Coconut Soup with Mushrooms, Scallions, and Lime
Angelo made Baked Potato Soup with Bacon, Onions, Sour Cream, Potato Skins, Scallions, and Grated Cheddar Cheese
Antonia made Parmesan Cream Eggs with Almonds, Tomato, Apple and a Garlic Crustini
Carla made Curry Apple Soup with Tomato Ginger Jam, and Cucumber Apple Slaw
Tiffany made Jambalaya with Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp with a Summer Salad
Padma introduced the chefs to Bourdain (whom they know very well) and guest judge Ming Tsai along with Thomas O'Brien, the home designer for Target. Tsai said that Dale's "ironed grilled cheese sandwich" was an attempt to win Iron Chef! Get it?
There are all good reviews about Dale's spicy tomato soup too. Anthony Bourdain called all of this "perfect stoner food." But let's just remember that Dale only made a cheese sandwich and tomato soup, nothing more and nothing special. When Angelo served his soup, our suspicions about over seasoning were confirmed. His soup was called "inedibly salty." But Dale survived this flaw last week, so will Angelo pass through now? And thanks for the advice about under seasoning, Mike. But Mike's dish wasn't a hit either, for after one bite Padma said she's had enough already. Major disappointment. Carla's soup was missing some major components, so that didn't go over big either. Maybe that's because she didn't start cooking until she set up her station neatly. Despite having so many eggs, the judges liked Antonia's parmesan cream eggs. The flavors and components went together well. Richard's dish was the last favorite, as his pork tenderloin was not a soup and it kept having employees going back for more. No one was too crazy about Tiffany's spin-off of a jambalaya, it was simply lacking and the flavor was dampened by heavy spices Tiffany used from Target. Of course pedestrian spices sold at Target aren't going to work!
Through nervousness, the three women began playing with stuffed animals from the toy isle. Tiffany's loud southern laugh seemed to piss Dale off, and he said that she hasn't won anything, so why is she here? Since you brought it up, Dale, let's remember that when you won, Susur Lee went biast and gave the Asian chef the win for the Asian challenge. But Tiffany should have won, all the way. And also, you've been on the bottom for the last two challenges, Dale, and Tiffany was only on the bottom last week. So that shows she's more steady and you're just all over the map.
So everyone heads to judges table, and I'm assuming it's the next morning.......
Judges' Table
Tiffany's various reactions to being on the bottom
Everyone's undoubtedly tired after the long night, and Richard, Antonia, and Dale are called to judges' table. They're the top, of course. Each chef is praised for their work under pressure at Target. All three dishes really nailed it. They flavors of Antonia;s eggs were all boldly there, and Richard's dish was a hit too. But Dale's "ironed grilled cheese sandwich" really amused the judges and they liked it. Tsai announced that the winner of this challenge is................Dale T! He gets $25,000! Wow, good work with you cheese sandwich, if it really was good work. You clearly amused the judges, but why must you win? Anyway, I suppose Dale deserved it, and now the bottom three chefs are summoned.
Actually, all four chefs who weren't on the top should've been on the bottom because they all messed up super badly, but the judges only summoned Angelo, Carla, and Tiffany. Wow, it just hit me, all three are favorites of the fans, and I'd honestly hate to see anyone of them go. As Tom said, they're all strong chefs. Yes, Angelo's won two eliminations, Carla's taken three, and Tiffany should've whooped Dale's butt in Dim Sum Lose Sum. But then I remembered that Tiffany was on the bottom last week too. The judges began with Carla, whose soup was missing an element, a vital component, something. They reached the conclusion that there was no protein in her curry apple soup. Moving on, Angelo's dish was way too salty thanks to Mike. It was truly inedible because of this, and the bacon was distasteful. Tiffany's jambalaya spin-off not only had pedestrian spices from Target but was uninspired and plainly bland. Hearing this, Tiffany began to cry, making a "good-bye speech" about how she came from the small town of Beaumont, Texas. Tiffany's tears provoked Carla's tears, and Angelo held back his crying. When the chefs returned to the stew room, Tiffany burst out weeping. Mike gave Angelo a high five of reassurance.
I think Tiffany's crying because she thinks she will go home. We think so too. As the judges discuss, Angelo's soup got the harshest criticism because of it's amount of salt, but Tiffany's jambalaya was a bland mess. Will this send the invincible Tiffany packing?
The three losers were summoned back to the bottom and Padma announced that the eliminated chef is..........................Angelo!?
Actually, all four chefs who weren't on the top should've been on the bottom because they all messed up super badly, but the judges only summoned Angelo, Carla, and Tiffany. Wow, it just hit me, all three are favorites of the fans, and I'd honestly hate to see anyone of them go. As Tom said, they're all strong chefs. Yes, Angelo's won two eliminations, Carla's taken three, and Tiffany should've whooped Dale's butt in Dim Sum Lose Sum. But then I remembered that Tiffany was on the bottom last week too. The judges began with Carla, whose soup was missing an element, a vital component, something. They reached the conclusion that there was no protein in her curry apple soup. Moving on, Angelo's dish was way too salty thanks to Mike. It was truly inedible because of this, and the bacon was distasteful. Tiffany's jambalaya spin-off not only had pedestrian spices from Target but was uninspired and plainly bland. Hearing this, Tiffany began to cry, making a "good-bye speech" about how she came from the small town of Beaumont, Texas. Tiffany's tears provoked Carla's tears, and Angelo held back his crying. When the chefs returned to the stew room, Tiffany burst out weeping. Mike gave Angelo a high five of reassurance.
I think Tiffany's crying because she thinks she will go home. We think so too. As the judges discuss, Angelo's soup got the harshest criticism because of it's amount of salt, but Tiffany's jambalaya was a bland mess. Will this send the invincible Tiffany packing?
The three losers were summoned back to the bottom and Padma announced that the eliminated chef is..........................Angelo!?
Angelo's Elimination
Angelo Sosa Eliminated
I'm a little surprised and slightly saddened and I have a lot of sympathy. Angelo was one of the stronger chefs remaining, and he was a strong candidate for the final four. He was, but now he's gone, and his elimination was bittersweet. After Padma called Angelo's name, Tiffany gasped, as she knew it should've been her. And so we are down to the top six, and Angelo Sosa, who placed third in season seven, is not included.
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