Top Chef Masters 4.4 Recap

Another disjointed set of challenges were presented this week. In the Quickfire, the chefs had eight whole minutes to prepare a splendid salad for vegetarians Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson of the B-52s. Make a salad for the B-52s without incorporating rock lobster in some way? Is that even possible? After tasting each of the eight mastercheftestants' dishes, it was concluded that Lorena's, with smoky grilled cauliflower, was the tastiest, and she got $5K for her charity.

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were taken on a trip to the Grand Canyon. Unlike my one visit to the Canyon, an 18-hour round-trip bus ordeal with a very loquacious Slavic driver named Jerry and only about two hours spent at the site itself, the lucky chefs got to travel by helicopter. Lucky, except for poor Takashi, who has a fear of heights. He hates them so much, he says he even has trouble changing the "right bulbs." Love him, and I felt his fear when it was time to walk on that crazy glass-bottomed bridge.

Once at the Canyon, the chefs, in sets of two, take ingredients indigenous to the area and to the native Hualapai tribe and prepare four family-style dishes for 20+ diners.

They're cooking outside, so of course there are problems with rain and keeping the fires lit, but for the most part, things go smoothly enough. Except the relationship between Kerry and Clark, which immediately spells doom for one of the members of this daring duo.

After going on for entirely too long a time about love and food and food and love, the other chefs manage to pry Art and Lorena away from the table of Hualapai diners and present their own dishes before they got too cold. Everyone seemed impressed, but the best dish of the evening belonged to the unlikely pair of Thierry and Takahashi, whose heavily accented English did not create a language barrier between them. Indeed, they're old friends and got along swimmingly...

...unlike Kerry and Clark, who ended up on the bottom with mouthy Art and Lorena. Lorena had immunity from the Quickfire, and the judges were quick to forgive Art his dried-out quail. Clark committed the sin of making a soft-textured corn dish that was likened to a "bland succotash" that didn't stand up to the dual sauces on Kerry's tenderloin. And for that, he was given the boot and reunited with his partner Mark, who suffered the same fate last week.

Next week: bimbo pool party with former Hefner galpal Holly Madison!

What did you think of this episode? Please leave a comment!

Posted on AllTopChef.com