Reactions to Top Chef Texas Episode 4

This week's Quickfire Challenge involved chile peppers and lots of them. Padma and guest judges the Too Hot Tamales, aka Top Chef Masters Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, tasted fifteen dishes centered around chiles of various degrees of heat. The winner of this challenge was Paul, who used the world's hottest chile - the Ghost chile - to great advantage in his chilled soup, and also won a cool $20K in the process.

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were put into teams and tasked with making a cowboy-pleasing bowl of chili. They had to work in their own kitchen...and backyard, and fire pit, etc., jockeying for position at counterspace and grill. The next evening, they served their bowls of red at the Tejas Rodeo and were judged by the attendees themselves who chose the winner. This week, it was the Green Team of Sarah, Chuy, and Chris C who made a most authentic all-meat chili to please their amateur judges.

The Black Team fared worst, but rather than kick someone out at random, Padma presented them with the additional challenge of creating a new dish from the remnants of their unsuccessful mole-style chile. Beverly utilized the mole best in her seared tuna dish and Nyesha also stayed in the competition with her Frito-encrusted shrimp. Richie, however, produced something that was too one-note for the judges' tastes and was sent packing.

So what did you think of this little twist?  Please leave a comment. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on AllTopChef.com