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Episode Recap: Puerto Rico
Leaving Chicago behind, the remaining four chefs show up in sunny Puerto Rico for the first part of the two-part finale. I'm not sure of the length of the break period but it was long enough for Antonia to open her restaurant, Lisa to get a new 'do and a relaxed attitude (until the Elimination Challenge) and Stephanie to visit Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia, and, sporting a t-shirt that read "I ♥ Tahoe Boys", perhaps Nevada too.
Joining Padma Lakshmi for the Quickfire Challenge is guest judge Chef Wilo Benet who presents a table filled with plantains that the chefs would use to make two different types of fritters. It's preferable to cook them before eating, but Antonia and Richard fell into the same trap of using uncooked plantains in their sauces. Antonia's plantain jam that accompanied her crispy oysters was considered slimy and Richard didn't eliminate the rawness from the ripe plantain sauce served with pork meatballs.
Both Lisa and Stephanie created tostones (plantains simply flattened and fried) to go with their dishes. The decision seemed like a close call until Lisa's Pan Roasted Duck and Mango Papaya Salsa was criticized for being sliced too thick. Stephanie's seared tuna was sliced just right but also had well-balanced flavor giving her the win and an advantage in the Elimination Challenge. But just how well did this advantage pay off for her?
The location of the EC is La Fortaleza, a fortress built in 1533 that is now the private residence of Puerto Rico's governor. With 100 guests arriving the next day, and the challenge requiring the chefs to use a whole pig to create at least two dishes, help will be needed. Four familiar faces show up as the finalists' sous-chefs: Dale, Nikki, Andrew and Spike. As the QFC winner, Stephanie was to assign and pair up the chefs. Instead of purposely putting the others at a disadvantage as Hat Guy Spike tried to do (twice), she looked for compatibility to create a positive working environment. Though Lisa had problems with at least two, she was given Andrew to work with. They had a shouting match several episodes ago but Andrew stepped up to the plate vowing to do his best.
While the sous-chefs went shopping at the local market (and Andrew speaking only colors in Spanish), the chefs began butchering their pigs. Flying mallet heads weren't the only problems in the kitchen. The tension is definitely high and Lisa goes from calm to cranky with Andrew. Nikki senses that Antonia's mojo is off when her rice — the most problem-plagued dish of the season — has to be tossed. And though Dale is a good worker, neither he nor Stephanie realized until the next day that their marinated pork belly had been left out all night.
With some quick thinking, Stephanie substituted a Tropical Fruit and Prosciutto Salad with Chicharrones (fried pork skin) that rounded out her menu of Coconut Braised Pork and Pork Satay on Sugar Cane Skewers. She was chosen the judge's favorite along with Richard who was the only chef to prepare four dishes. That, coupled with his last minute decision to incorporate malta (a carbonated malt beverage) into his Pork Ribs with Malta and Soy Glaze giving the dish a unique caramel flavor, most likely elevated him into the winner's spot. Plus it doesn't hurt when most of the guests are surrounding your table.
Having come this far in the competition, the slightest slip up will send you packing. Tom Colicchio questioned why Lisa stepped out of her comfort zone and prepared Latin food for the guests instead of using her Asian influence. She said her upbringing gave her experience but Gail Simmons said Lisa focused more on the garnishes rather than the pig and prepared a purée that was too sweet and overpowering.
It seemed everyone had negative comments for Antonia. Gail said her food was rustic and the least sophisticated. Chef Tom thought her three distinct dishes should have been served separately instead of all on one plate. I immediately knew there was trouble when Padma asked Antonia at the party how long she soaked the beans. The fatal flaw was serving them undercooked in her dish of Pigeon Peas with Pork Sausage. Once more with that pained expression, Padma asked Antonia to pack her knives and go.
It has to be a lonely feeling when your competitors hug and send well wishes to the losing chef and don't bother to acknowledge or congratulate you for making it to the finale. Lisa made this point an issue to both Richard and Stephanie, to which Richard responded "You won the bronze medal. Congratulations."
Second Bites
• Do you think Richard would still have won if Stephanie had been able to serve her marinated pork belly instead of the fruit and prosciutto salad?
• Typical of the man with a smoker, Richard's response at winning the 2009 Toyota Corolla: "Holy smokes!"
• Text Poll: Who should pack their knives and go? A whopping 91% voted for Lisa.
• The three remaining chefs should be at the top of their game next week. So, as Padma asks at the beginning of each episode, "who will get to turn their culinary dreams into reality?"
For more tasty treats about Top Chef, dig into our Online Video Guide.
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Jun 5, 2008 3:07 AM
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Well, at least Stephanie made it. It makes it easier for me to find one person to root for.
Go Steph!
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Jun 5, 2008 3:10 AM
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Richard might have still won - I say that because the judges seemed to like Stephanie's replacement dish.
I kind of watched the marathon of Top Chef today and it was interesting to see how Stephanie has slowly risen to the top. Richard was kind of flashy early on and then there were others who had fights and drama and I just didn't notice her that much. With the repeats today, it was like, "Wow, she sure has won a lot of competitions."
I also have to say I noticed how well Richard has worked and played with others. For the most part, it didn't matter who was on his team, his team usually did well. I am impressed by him not only as a chef, but more so as a man and a leader.
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Jun 5, 2008 3:19 AM
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Puerto Rico! Are they following the Democratic Primary?
Hey check out this hilarious site...it is awesome (trust me)!
www.mikesthinktank.com
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Jun 5, 2008 4:03 AM
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I think they chose Puerto Rico bc it's one of the few "destinations" left that doesn't require a passport. They can drag in as many crew, old contestants,etc. as they want.
What a great challenge by the way. The whole pig thing would have been so gross for me. I love to cook but I don't care for pork (except cured and smoked- bacon! ham!).
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Jun 5, 2008 6:54 AM
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I was really rooting for Antonia to be in the finals with Richard and Stephanie so I was very disappointed when she was sent home and Lisa was allowed to continue.
I don't think Stephanie and Richard were trying to be rude in not congratulating Lisa, I think they were just tired, as Richard said. I'm sure they weren't happy Lisa made it to the finals because they will now have to deal with drama in the kitchen while trying to cook the meal that will win this for them.
I'm hoping that Stephanie wins the quickfire and chooses Antonia to be on her team. I think they would work well together. Although, I think Stephanie would be okay with most of the contestants they could bring back. As you pointed out, Richard can work with everyone. Lisa can't seem to work well with anyone.
Since I get up at 4 am, I think I will wait until Thursday morning to watch next week. I'm afraid that Lisa would win and I would be awake fuming all night.
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Jun 5, 2008 7:34 AM
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Is Lisa the worst finalist ever in Top Chef history? I don't remember her winning any challenge, quickfire or elimination. Counting last night, Lisa was in the bottom group 6 times. Dale, Antonia, even Spike and Andrew are better chefs than she is.
I wish the producers would realize that fans of this show are a bit more sophisticated than other reality shows...we don't need "villians" kept around to keep us interested...we want to see the best people compete.
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Jun 5, 2008 8:22 AM
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Well, color me shocked.
I had long predicted that it would be Steph, Richard and Antonia in the Finals, but with the caveat that you just never know. I really don't understand the judges. That was Lisa's 4th time in a row in the bottom, and 6th out of the last 7 challenges. She was in the bottom with Andrew, then Dale, then Spike and now Antonia. She SHOULD have been eliminated over Dale (even Chef Tom agreed in his blog over at bravotv.com) and COULD have been eliminated against Spike but it was his 7th time in the bottom and her 5th then.
Perhaps Antonia was worse in that challenge, and she also was worse in the quickfire, but how many challenges had she done well compared to Lisa? According to wikipedia, they both only won once outright, but Antonia was in the "winning group" an additional 6 times, while Lisa only once. And once again, there was Lisa with that puss on her face and arms crossed in front of her.
Top Chef runs a disclaimer that the elimination is discussed with the producers, so why wouldn't her attitude and the way she acts towards everyone come into play? The week she survived over Dale, Chef Bourdain and the others discussed her crappy attitude and body language, and Tom wrote in his blog that although he was gone that week, he would have eliminated her over Dale, so why wouldn't that come into play tonight? I think they should have been judges on their whole time on the show and not just those 1 or 2 dishes. 91% of the poll voters chose Lisa to pack her knives and go for very good reason.
I had predicted that a woman would win, probably Stephanie, but now that Lisa is in the finals instead of Antonia, I think Richard's chance to win has dramatically increased. I still think, as evidenced by his quickfire, that he still tends to make odd dishes while Stephanie is more consistent (I can't believe that was her first quickfire win although she's won the elimination 4 times.)
I have absolutely no desire for or belief that Lisa can win this. If she does, Top Chef would lose all the credibility it has gained over the past couple of seasons. I wonder who will win "fan favorite" but I now hope that it will be Antonia.
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Jun 5, 2008 8:25 AM
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I was SERIOUSLY disappointed that Lisa wasn't sent packing! I DO think Antonia's head wasn't in the competition, with her daughter back home and her restaurant, but I dislike Lisa SO much!
Watching Dale help Stephanie, knowing he was a better chef than Lisa, was bittersweet! I felt his pain at leaving that pork out all night, and TOTALLY agreed with NOT working with is! Food poisoning isn't something to play with. Plus, her replacement dish was a favorite! I was surprised at Antonia serving the food all on the same plate, and it is sad that really that was her downfall!
I am rooting for Stephanie, but Richard winning would be good too. Lisa wins and my cry of dismay will be heard ALL over the country! She is just not a good person. The remaining chefs, know it is a competition, but also know that you win because it is a cooking competition, and not because you followed the rules, or stabbed someone in the back!
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Jun 5, 2008 9:30 AM
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Stephanie mentioned at the beginning of the show that the break had been six months. I didn't think they would wait that long for the final?
I don't think Lisa has a snowball's chance in hell of winning, but if she does I'll puke all over the place. She should never had made it to the finals to begin with, the final four should have been Dale, Steph, Antonia and Blaise.
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Jun 5, 2008 9:42 AM
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I think people to need to be reminded the judges do not take past challenges into account during a challenge.
The fact is when you have 4 people if 2 are in the top, then 2 will be in the bottom. Now I think a valid case can be made that Lisa is the weakest of the 4. She has had the least amount of success of the 4 but she has won an elimantion challenge and has been on in the top group a number of times both in the quick fire and the elimnation. It's just easier to recall the times she's at the bottom owing to her demeanor.
Now I feel the other 3 are better chefs and better suited to this contest in terms of temperment, but I think it is unfair to judge her cooking skills solely on Top Chef owing to the very constrained conditions.
As upsetting as it was to see Antonio go and lisa stay, the reality is both made relatively equal mistakes. Neither made huge blunders. Tom gave them a B+ instead of an A. And there was the factor that people seemed to like Antonio's menu the least. Yes Lisa can be a whiner but even she thought she was going to be sent home. So she was surprised.
Also I can, in this instance, see why she would be a little hurt by the lack of acknowledgement from the others. Yes Richard was tired and Lisa knows they were bummed that Antonia was booted but it was a little thoughtless. if Lisa was the one who lost, you know they would have mustered plenty of energy to congratulate Antonia.
btw kudos to Stephanie for at least trying to create the most harmonious pairings. Although I would have had swapped Spike and Andrew, Spike may not have been as much help to Lisa
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Jun 5, 2008 10:38 AM
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Although I've been annoyed by the constant profanity this season from most of the contestants (though rarely, if ever, Richard), I have to share the sentiment of his actual quote:
"You won the (bleep)ing bronze medal. Congratulations."
That Lisa's got zero class, man. But what's a Bravo finale without a villain? I'm sure the execs still flash back to the first season of Shear Genius and think, "Yeesh! Never again!"
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Jun 5, 2008 10:45 AM
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I can't believe that Lisa made it to the finals over Antonia. What were the judges thinking? Lisa has consistently been in the bottom 3 for most of the season and they send home Antonia instead? We don't need Lisa's drama and bad attitude in the finals.
All I can say is: Go Stephanie!!
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Jun 5, 2008 10:45 AM
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"I think people to need to be reminded the judges do not take past challenges into account during a challenge." (from previous poster)
WHAT?? Wasn't his past challenges one one the major reasons that SPIKE was sent home last week instead of LISA. She has been in the bottom one less time that SPIKE (until this week) and he was sent home. That was the only criteria last week for Spike's elimination. Both preparations were bad.
This week (AGAIN) Lisa should have been sent home, especially since Antonia was consistantly better throughout the season. I thought the judges were also to take in consideration TALENT POTENTIAL. Lisa hasn't been able to cook rice at least twice. Antonio didn't cook beans enough..and was sent packing. Wow, what up with that?
Again Top Chef has fell victim to inconsistant judging ... same old same old.
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Jun 5, 2008 10:54 AM
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Hey - I am truly a Lisa hater and was very disappointed to see my favorite Antonia leave, but to justify her elimination, having an pea dish that was not fully cooked is a FATAL mistake(Pidgeon Peas are dried, then rehydrated). Uncooked peas are not good! If you think that al dente rice or pasta is bad, try an al dente pea or bean. It is terrible.
I now do not care who wins as long as it is not Lisa. Richard and Stephanie are quality chefs that both deserve victory while Lisa certainly doesn't! If I had to pick who I wanted to win it would be Stephanie, only because no woman has ever won before.
How funny was Richard when they gave him the car? Truly speechless!
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Jun 5, 2008 11:23 AM
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