Top Chef Masters 4.3 Recap

This week, the Quickfire Challenge was back, and for some chefs, it was more challenging than for others. The deal was to create a delicious dish in 20 minutes using one of several luscious protein choices. The catch - the chefs could use no heat. Everyone figured sushi master Takashi would take home the gold in this challenge, and they were right. Guest judge Brian Boitano chose Takashi's mackerel dish as his favorite of the nine.

Takashi shared with us that his daughter was once a figure skater, and his contact with Boitano would make her "big big jearous."

The Elimination Challenge continued a now-established Asian theme - the chefs were put into three teams with the help of the knife block and made to cook Benihana-style on a teppanyaki grill. If that new experience wasn't enough to throw the chefs off, they also had to cook for four former Top Chef Masters - Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Miliken, Rick Moonen, and Jonathan Waxman, along with Ruth, James, and new judge Francis Lam.

After shopping, the chefs convened for prep at the kitchens of Shibuya, at the MGM Grand. The green team of Mark, Kerry, and Lorena showed their stuff first, and each got dinged for their lack of seasoning. Kerry thought it might be rude to taste his food in front of the diners, but Mary Sue was adamant that it should have been done.

The Yellow Team of Takashi, Clark, and Patricia went next, followed by the White Team's Art, Chris, and Thierry. Both fared much better than Team Green, and Team White ended up on the very top. They eschewed the whole Asian thing and cooked to their own strengths, which for Art meant Southern food. His corn cakes and shrimp were tasty enough to get him the win.

Unfortunately for partner Clark, Chef Mark's too-simple dish of scallops and bok choy, sans salt, was deemed the weakest, and he was sent packing.

Next week: the B-52s. Or at least 2 of them.

So what did you think about this episode? Please leave a comment!

Posted on AllTopChef.com