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Top Chef All Stars – Season 8 Episode 12: Island Bound
Down to the final five, the chefs quietly discuss Dale’s exit and reflect upon their own demises during their perspective seasons. They are quickly coming up to the wire and each contestant sees the tasks ahead, not in terms of win/lose, but what the season’s demands has already cost each of them. They continue to adjust to the distance from those they love, the beat downs, the high and mighty feelings, a true kitchen stew.
Padma pops into the apartment and announces the chefs must head to the roof. Antonia is determined she’ll be told to base jump from the building scrambling and egg. Now that’s a visual! For the Quickfire challenge, the gang ferry off to Ellis Island, where the names of thousands of immigrants are emblazoned. Lists and images of those who first saw the Statue of Liberty from a foreign vessel flood the imagination. Memories of Vito Andolini (Corleone) spring to mind. The group boards the ferry Miss Freedom and discovers a note from Padma. Your time starts at the whistle blow. Make a dish from what is on board, from donuts to nacho chips. Does anyone want to taste what will arrive on the opposite dock? I’m willing to take a pass. No one knows how long it takes to get to Ellis Island, which is part of the time challenge. Popcorn is flying, hotdogs are twisting in the wind and Mike is finished, with a dish he admits he wouldn’t feed to his cat. Let’s all assume he likes his cat, shall we?
Padma enters with Dan Barber, the co-owner of Blue Hill, a sustainable food restaurant. The talking head moments are filled with who is the major league bailer on the challenge and everyone has a different opinion. Needless to say, criticism was alive and well in the ferry snack bar kitchenette. That said, the winner is Carla with her light candied orange whatcha ma call it dish. Richard whines for a couple seconds, but his dismay is short lived. We move on to the Elimination challenge.
Using your roots to design a cultural dish means knowing where you came from is an integral part of who you are. Carla reaches into her own history that includes slavery, 20 million Ellis Island detainees be damned. Padma announces Top Chef hired a genealogist to assist each chef in understanding from whence they came.
Now Top Chef producers have been around this block enough times to realize the tension is mounting, to a temperature where someone’s gasket is going to blow. It is only a matter of whom. So in their collective wisdom, they turn down the heat and serve up a family reunion, much to the delight of the final five. Family is the subject of the episode. The group pours over the information gathered by the genealogist with gusto. At one point, Mike discovers he’s actually related to Antonia. It’s a Sicilian thing. Antonia realizes Mike is part of her karma and plans to whoop his butt. Mike now wants Antonia to stick around, presumably so he can whoop her butt. By the way, the genealogist dug up a photo of six-year old Mikey in spandex. Ah baby dance school, gotta love it. With their loved one’s help, menus are decided and they say goodbye, heading off to shop in hopes of securing a spot in the final four.
The menus sound reasonable given each chef’s background, until we land on Richard of course. He has discovered butchers and chemists in his family tree. There will be no holding this man back. He attacks the menu with braised short rib with pickled glasswort. Honestly, this sounded like something direct from J.K Rowling’s imagination. Enter Harry Potter. The families join the judges and the competition is on.
Mike serves potato gnocci with braised pork shank ragu. The gnocci gets good, if not rave reviews. Mike is looking fine at this point. Antonia is up next, who began cooking in her family restaurant at the age of 10. Her risotto with braised veal fares much better than Tre’s did so few episodes ago. For Tiffany, this is déjà vu all over again in that she was booted at this point in season seven. She delivers her braised short rib with mustard greens, okra and oxtail marmalade. To Tom’s delight, he enjoyed Tiffany’s okra. Everybody dance!
Richard brings out short ribs, potatoes with fried bone marrow and pickled glasswort. The judges not only adore the glasswort (yes I had to look it up, sue me) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasswort , there are also kudos for this elite fried bone marrow. Richard gets a “tasty” thumbs-up from his wife. Carla, to no one’s surprise is worried. I swear, if for no other reason, make her go away for being a whiner. If her head isn’t pulling a Poltergeist spinning act, she’s second-guessing her heritage, her training or her ability to add two plus two. Flour, do you sift it? Ok, that was over the top, but the editing or she is really getting on my nerves. Still, Carla’s braised pork shoulder with grits and cheddar biscuits are met with happy mouths. Meanwhile, her husband Mathew reveals they met on a dating website, so much for the bar scene. Everyone is pulled to judges’ table and away we go.
Carla receives accolades for her broth, but her grits and corn get a slight smackdown from head judge Tom Collichio. Over all it was well received. Up next is Richard, who learns his dish was interesting and well though out. Antonia’s risotto survives the Top Chef judges’ taste test. Whew. Tiffany’s okra converts Tom. Dan Barber finds Mike’s gnocchi rich without being overpowering. Gail reminds Mike to always listen to your mother because the gravy was delicious.
As they wait in the stew room, Antonia admits she’s nauseous with anticipation. Regardless of the fact all made great dishes, someone must depart. At judges table, the confusion over who wins and who loses is evident. The winner of a new Toyota is the chef that, according to Dan, rose above is Antonia. She also heads to the Bahamas for the finale. Mike also gets to move forward. They both head back to the stew room as the remaining three await their fate. This time there is no bad news. The judges simply could not decide and all five will be heading to the finale. Next week sun, sand and major mishaps await the contestants. See you then!
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