Recap Roundup - Top Chef Masters 4.8

Mary Alice of Charm City Cakes for the Baltimore Sun on say what? "Critics' table -- or as Chris calls it, 'Top Chef Ulcer.' They call all four back. Everyone gushes over Kerry's progression from creamy to powerful. They question the sweetness of Lorena's chicken salad and the texture of her chocolate mousse. She admits she did not taste the chicken salad today, and James Oseland's eyebrows raise higher than any botox could ever hope for."

A Just Recompense goes ballistic on Kerry: "Kerry is very selfish! He has been a terrible teammate all along! And nobody ever calls him on it! Not even here on this blog! So I will call him on it! Kerry, you are selfish! You screwed Patricia on the Thai challenge! You got Clark sent home from the Grand Canyon! And now you destroyed Lorena’s dish! I do not know if he does it on purpose, or if he is just very focused and does not pay attention to other people. But if he is a chef, he should know better! And some one should scold him for it! Someone with more authority than me! I do not like Lorena, but I would treat her better than that! He cooked her salmon twenty minutes early so he could cook his shrimp! I would think the chef could handle cooking a piece of fish and some shrimp at the same time! It is not like they were cooking for 700 people, they were making three portions! And what makes me very angry is that Kerry wins! His Shrimp Farfalle with Herbs and Yellow Tomato Beurre Fondue was creamy and tangy. So what, he is Not Nice! I do not care if he is best friends with Tom Colicchio or not! City Harvest gets $2500 and it is hard to complain about that. Just because he is Not Nice does not mean his charity should be held responsible!"

LA Weekly on he's too nice to be a judge: "After tasting the dishes, Avello said the most refreshing, honest thing we've ever heard a guest judge say on this show -- that he was honored to taste the food of such amazing chefs and had no place complaining about any of it. (Right. On. Finally! Why do these guests judges suddenly act like they're Alan Richman?) But he had a favorite, and that was Heffernan's shrimp farfalle -- a dish that carried the weight of Garcia's seared salmon with rice that didn't make the plate."

Gossip & Gab is one of two recappers who don't know the difference between "tureen" and "terrine" (Mary Alice is the other): "All of the chefs were brought before the judge’s table for commentary. Kerry Heffernan got great reviews for all of his dishes. Lorena Garcia was taken to task over a few aspects of her dishes – like the sweetness and consistency of her chocolate mousse. Chris Cosentino received rave reviews for his tureen, as well as a comment on the inconsistency in the doneness of his meat dish. The bread was a flop for Patricia Yeo, and her dishes didn’t meld into a cohesive meal."

The Zagat Blog on whiteness: "As the chefs are setting up their picnic dinner the next day, the 300 patrons arrive. To the uninitiated, Diner en Blanc looks like a cross between a cult and a Tom Wolfe fan convention. The whole 'everyone in white' thing is schticky."

Posted on AllTopChef.com