Recap Roundup - Top Chef Masters 4.5

A Just Recompense on the dangers of waiting until the last minute: "Patricia really steps in it. She’s making pho, and holds off on adding the broth until the last minute so the noodles won’t get mushy. Great idea, but she misses the last minute and is poised with her ladle over the bowl when Curtis calls time. So her Faux Pho Noodles with Rib Eye is really a bowl of uncooked pho noodles and a slice of raw beef, or, on the veg side, Mushroom. Since the chefs are in the Whine room, Curtis guesses that this is an incomplete dish. Obviously, it can’t be tasted, and just as obviously, it’s the worst dish. She’s horribly embarrassed; when they’re all together at judging, she explains, and offers them the broth to taste, and they love it."

Grub Street on how low can we go? "It doesn't get better, though, because we’re subjected to Art in a Speedo. He jumps into the pool while the others awkwardly stare on. There are slow-motion effects and porn-y music that make Baywatch look like high art. Meanwhile, people on Twitter are happy to see Holly on TV again. The combination of these two things is highly demoralizing."

Charm City Cakes' Mary Alice for the Baltimore Sun on boring: "Art is making a southern biscuit (shocking) with a turkey burger. He’s using garlic and onions despite Holly’s instructions. He insists that if you cook them down you can’t really tell.

I appreciate that this is Top Chef Masters and thus these guys do not need to prove themselves, but it is getting kind of boring watching them all make their specialities week in and week out. I would really like to see Takashi make a biscuit and Art do some sushi. Let’s mix it up, people!"

The Zagat Blog on pre-challenge relaxation: 'After a whirlwind shopping trip to Whole Foods, prepping and as many Lexus RX (say it three times fast) mentions as possible, the chefs unwind at Blue Ribbon Sushi. They all drink and bond exchanging war stories and comparing first jobs. Art's was at KFC, Cosentino's was a dishwasher at IHOP, and Kerry was a busboy at Bonanza. Yikes."

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Posted on AllTopChef.com