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Top Chef Masters: Rick Slips Us The Tongue
Recap by RTVC Staff Writer Logan Huffman
June 25, 2009
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Chef Rick Bayless
Previously on ‘Top Chef Masters’, Suzanne Tracht received 5 stars in the Quickfire Challenge, giving her an early lead and allowing her to win the Elimination Challenge, as she became the second chef to move on to the Champion Round.
This week’s episode starts as we meet our first chef, Wilo Benet, who is a Puerto Rican chef that has three restaurants. Wilo has been a chef for 27 years and really loves it, and Tom Colicchio tells us that Wilo is Puerto Rico’s first celebrity chef, and he has done stints at the Governor’s Mansion and Le Bernadin in New York. Wilo was a guest judge in season four when the finale was in Puerto Rico, adding that it is more pressure being a contestant now, and that we’ll have to see what happens.
Cindy Pawlcyn is our next chef to walk into the kitchen. She owns the 25 year old Mustard’s Grill restaurant in Napa Valley. She also has other restaurants as well. James tells us that Cindy is the queen of Napa Valley cooking, and she was one of the first people on the scene to do really intelligent cooking.
Cindy has been cooking her whole life and knew she wanted to be a chef by 13 years old. The charity she is playing for is Clinic Ole, which helps represent and support a large portion of underinsured and insured people. Cindy says that she is kind of nervous, and she hopes she doesn’t go brain dead.
The third chef of the evening is Ludo Lefebvre, and he owns and is the head chef of Ludo Bites, his restaurant in Los Angeles. He became a chef at the very young age of 24. He began working in the kitchen when he was 14, and adds that he was lucky that he did his apprenticeship with Marc Meneau, one of the top French chefs. Tom tells us that Ludo is French born and trained, and has worked with one of his favorite chefs. Tom adds that Ludo has been nominated for many culinary awards.
Ludo is playing for C.H.A.S.E for Life, which is a charity that was started by one of his friends, who nearly lost her daughter because no one knew the proper way to do CPR. The charity helps to train people and raise awareness on how to properly perform CPR. Ludo adds that he is very competitive and doesn’t like to lose.
The last chef of the evening is Rick Bayless. He is from Chicago and own two restaurants there. He visited Mexico when he was fourteen, and it was like love at first sight. Tom tells us that Rick has won James Beard awards multiple times, and also won the award for the best restaurant in America. Rick is competing for the Frontera farmer foundation, which gives money to small farming families. Rick adds that he is very ready to get started.
Kelly welcomes the chefs, who are all a little nervous about the different surroundings, as Rick adds that it was easy for him to be a judge on the show, but you’re scared to death when it’s your stuff being judged.
For the Quickfire Challenge, Kelly has the chefs draw knives first. Wilo draws an orange knife, Cindy draws a yellow knife, Ludo draws a red knife, and Rick draws a green knife. Kelly reminds us of the season two Quickfire Challenge in which the chefs had to create a dish based on color. Michael won that season’s challenge, and it is now their turn to create a dish based on the colors they have just drawn. Wilo is anxious about the challenge.
We find out that the judges for this challenge is three females: a top food stylist, a food photographer, and a cookbook author. Cindy is more nervous than she thought she would be, and she hopes her age doesn’t slow her down.
Kelly begins the thirty minute clock for the challenge. The chefs begin rushing around the kitchen, as Rick tells us that he is the king of slow food, and he was scared he wouldn’t be able to cook anything quick enough.
As Wilo begins cutting carrots for his dish, he says that he has been an executive chef, an owner, a school director, and a author in his culinary career, and he thinks that his passion and skill in the kitchen is what makes him successful.
Ludo tastes his sauce, explaining that red is a very intense color, and he is intense as well. Ludo runs down his dish for us, explaining that people don’t understand how much pressure there is when you are trained in France. He says that one of the chefs he worked with pushed him so hard, that he would go home crying in the evenings. He finishes by saying that he takes his cooking very personally.
Cindy hurries as only twenty minutes remain, as she tells us that she never thought that she could own her own restaurant, as when she started, people really only wanted women in the pantry or in the bake shop, not in the kitchen. She is stubborn and determined, which she thinks is her strength in the competition.
Rick says that he was lucky, as green stuff is his favorite to cook with. Rick is doing some roasted vegetables on banana leaves, which should bring out the herbs of the flavors. Rick grew up in Oklahoma in his parents’ barbecue restaurant, and he was trained by a very intuitive chef. He says that he thinks that is why he is so drawn to Mexican cooking, as it is very intuitive as well.
As Wilo explains his dish, he adds that he found some edible flowers and while they’re not really his style, the judges are female, and it’s always good to know who you are serving.
Only ten minutes are left.....
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