Recap Roundup - Top Chef Masters 4.3

A Just Recompense on different strokes: "Art, Chris, Theirry are the winning team: Funny how these random team things always end up with Art and Chris together. While they’re shopping, Chris remembers an ingredient and asks Thierry to keep track of time while he’s running to get it so they can do a toss if needed. However, the Chef in the Hat has a different idea: he gets a massage. Right there in the middle of Whole Foods. Yes, a masseuse has a station set up (the chair and the round padded ring you put your face in) and just gives him a little shoulder work. Chris is perplexed. Hey, some people are Type A, and some are Type M."

Mary Alice from Charm City Cakes for the Baltimore Sun on ha! "The chefs will be cooking for the usual critics and three former Top Chef Masters. Teams are divided by drawing knives. Curtis asks if anyone has cooked Teppanyaki before, no one says yes. Then he asks Takashi specifically. 'Why me?!?' Takashi declares. Good call, Chef. Hey Curtis, has anyone here had a blooming onion before? How about YOU?"

LA Weekly on Olympians: "So here we are with foodist figure skater Brian Boitano (and yes, we always have to say his full name) as he tastes about a dozen sashimi-style plates. Sticking with the sporty theme, he didn't just pick a winner -- he gave out bronze, silver and gold awards, dubbing Takashi Yagihashi's raw mackerel the best. Then they played the Japanese national anthem. No, just kidding, they didn't do that."

Grub Street on what is it with Art Smith and cake? "The final team is up, and their strategy “is not to cook Japanese,” which sounds like the worst idea ever. Art makes cheese-grits cakes which fall apart because Honey Bear apparently cannot make any kind of cake to save his life. But he redeems himself with his fanciful stories and pouring Jack Daniels on the griddle to make some fire, which is the Benihana action everyone has been waiting for."

The Zagat Blog on it's not easy being Green: "None of the chefs have ever done teppanyaki before (obvi) so naturally everyone's nervous. They're split into three teams of three. The green team - Mark, Kerry and Lorena - goes first. Mark makes scallops and bok choy and went too simple. Everyone's horrified by the way he grills the bok choy - Moonen just wanted to grab it, throw liquid on it and season it. Kerry does a Korean take with shrimp with eggplant herb salad and gochujang. The shrimp is sadly overcooked. Lorena Garcia (big fan of Waxman's apparently) speaks in the third person and puts on a show making chicken fried rice. That's her thing, she's got spice - but unfortunately all three of them forgot to spice their food. They didn't taste it and it's all under-seasoned."

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