Thursday, October 13, 2011

Reactions to Top Chef Just Desserts 2 Episode 8

This week on Top Chef Just Desserts, we had famous French pastry maven Francois Payard guest judging first a pie competition then a carnival. Seems undignified for such a master, non?

In any case, the Quickfire involved making pies - one-handed. Rolling out a crust must be tough with one paw, but the chefs managed, along with chopping plums and whipping cream. Poor Matthew accidentally moved his dish with the hand he wasn't supposed to be using, which disqualified him. Out of the four remaining, Carlos' pie took top honors and a nice little $5,000 prize.

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to recreate a carnival treat in an upscale way for a fete hosted by Dana Cowin. So there was carny food - where were the carny people? The freaks? Oh...wait...that's why the chefs were there....

Sally chooses to make a caramel corn-inspired dish, which seems a no-brainer since it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I thought, "carnival" along with "I hope there are no clowns." She makes it with a fresh corn pudding, which adds a real element of surprise. Matthew tries pies again, this time with two hands, and creates an apple pie that the judges really enjoy. Orlando tries too hard and interprets "candy apple" as a multi-layered cake that includes...chocolate. Ever had a chocolate candy apple? Um, no. Chris went for a funnel cake ice cream, with funnel cake and some sort of strawberry goo made with agar on the side. I've never eaten funnel cake with strawberries...I'll bet he was thinking fried dough, which is usually offered with a choice of toppings. Carlos, shockingly enough, did not use peanut butter or bananas in his dish, which may or may not have been to his detriment. Instead, he produced a wee little hamburger with churro "fries." While cute as can be, the angelfood bun was soft and sticky and the fries were cold.

Matthew wins and Carlos is sent home.

Did you watch? Did you think Carlos deserved to be sent home? Or maybe Orlando should have gone? or Chris? Please leave a comment!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

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