Top Chef Masters: Season 3, Episode 1: Check Please!

We open the season with the first Quick Fire, whereby the chefs go head to head with whomever they are standing next to. They pick a mystery box and must create a dish using their mystery ingredient as well as incorporating their competitor’s ingredient. Fun stuff like marshmallows and canned corned beef, along with sardines and dragon fruit are paired up. John C. and Mary Sue tackle frog legs and cottage cheese. YUM. At the finish line, John, Celina and Naomi have not completed their dishes. Harder than it looks on TV I suppose. 

This time around, all three judges taste test the recipes as the chefs watch via a TV monitor. Mary Sue wins over John C. with fried chili cottage cheese cake. Whoda thunk? Suvir wins over Celina who delivers an empty plate. Hugh has no competition in Naomi. Alex can’t overtake Floyd. Traci’s salads fit the bill over John S.’s dish. The overall winner of $5K and immunity is Traci. She’s stoked. Somehow she got away with creating two dishes when the task was to make one. OK. Let’s break the rules right off the bat and win. Good for her.

Moving on to the Elimination challenge, ‘Restaurant Wars’ is not only a first on TC Masters, but each of these celebrated chefs have opened their own foodie places, so blowing it will be rather embarrassing.  They break up into groups and Red Team Hugh notes that his brethren remind him of the type of jokes you hear from Granddad. Two Indians, two Americans, a Canadian and a guy from Portugal walk into a bar. This should be an interesting menu.

After shopping, they have two hours to prep and decide on Restaurant names.  The Blue team is now Team Leela, which means moment of enlightenment. The opposition chooses the name Mosaic. Meanwhile, Naomi is sizing up the competition while John C. is worried Alex’s work is so detailed he may not survive time wise. 

Opening day arrives and as everyone scurries through their three hours cook time, Suvir is concerned the younger master chefs are delicate ego wise, therefore they toss garnishes onto their foods like elephants toss hay. In his view, every true master chef knows less is more. We’ll see.

Dinner service begins and Leela runs with a banquets serving style. Mosaic is going with a timed seating arrangement. Enter guest judge Danielle Freeman, who is happy to know the seating arrangement is calm, cool and collected. Lets see if the food works.  First up is Mosaic. Hugh’s scallop is slapped for being too salty. Traci once again gets kudos for making a salad. George’s salmon confit is well received by the judges.  Ruth wants to learn to make Floyds spice braised short ribs with oat risotto, so she can do it at home. James as we have seen in seasons past isn’t so impressed. Does anyone else read this guy as pompous or is he just a professional perfectionist? Still, Suvir is applauded for his berry and pear cobbler, but Mary Sue’s cupcake doesn’t fare so well with mixed reviews.

Over at Leela the place is hopping, to Curtis’ dismay. Naomi has chosen to seat everyone at once, banquet style, placing a huge strain on the kitchen. In the back of the house, chefs fly around in their attempts to keep up with the orders. John C. can’t figure out the seating chart. It’s insane in his eyes. 

The judges’ food arrives and Alex’s celery root, wild mushroom and spinach fricassee gets high marks. John C.’s sweet potato and peanut soup with spicy chicken liver mousse is a bit too spicy for Ruth. If this isn’t bad enough, the next course doesn’t seem to be heading their way. There is an easily extinguished fire in the kitchen, but this is nothing compared with the rising heat of pressure the Leela’s staff is facing. Naomi tries to BS her way out why the judges have been waiting so long and no one is buying this fable. The food finally hits the table. Sue’s halibut with sea scallop is deemed pretty, but not outstanding taste wise. John S.’s lamb rack with jimaca, apple and lime is nailed for being raw. Additionally, it seems John neglected to peel the stickers off the apples. Maybe it’s a new age garnish? Curtis hopes he at least remembered to wash the fruit.

Up next is Naomi’s chocolate torte with grand marnier and Celina’s pistachio cake and honey semifreddo combo. The table drools all over Naomi’s dessert, but Celina receives a so so reception. Naomi is happy overall. Although there was a time delay, she’s not concerned because the judges don’t have a say in the restaurant results. This time the diners are in charge. Of course the losing team will face the judges, so overall experience counts on this challenge.

Leela is called out to discover that while Mosaic won according to the four judges but the diners preferred Leela. The winning dish goes to Alex. He snags $10K for his charity, Faster Cures.

Mary Sue and Hugh are sent back to face the critics. Once again, over salting is an issue. The scallops were nearly inedible, but Hugh gets points for trying something new. Mary Sue’s cup cake lacked a sense of adventure. She’s been making this dessert for ages and states she did not have the appropriate bitter chocolate as her defense. So, the first to depart TC Masters is Hugh, though he doesn’t leave empty handed. A charitable donation to Wholesome Wave will be made on his behalf. While it is never easy to be the first eliminated, Hugh leaves with his dignity intact, signs of a professional. Still, his demise raises the question, is Suvir right that younger chefs tend to over garnish? In this instance it appears less might have been more.