good morning good morning. I’ve only just learnt today is NOT june. that’s tomorrow.
And thank you all for your patience for today’s Top Chef Tuesday Wednesday. I blame football.
We football fans know a thing or two about the importance of the run-in, those final matches that could make or break a season, destroy title dreams (like Arsenals) and see contenders ascend.
In the world of Top Chef World All Stars, cheftestant Buddha is clearly the one to beat.
Quickfire winner: Buddha
Elimination challenge winner: Buddha
Eliminated: Tom
This was the second episode sweep for Buddha, and his fourth consecutive win in the competition overall. This dude knows the game better than anyone else, playing it better than anyone else and is the odds-on favourite to be named Top Chef.
But really, if there were any two challenges almost tailor-made for our Australian-born American chef boy wonder, it’s these two.
First our chefs had to be inspired by jelly molds, which are apparently a thing again. Buddha came to this competition armed with molds and busted out his flower-shaped one. Easy W.
For our main challenge, our chefs had to be inspired a Trompe-l’œil and make a dish that looks like a food or object but really isn’t that food or object. Such as a bowling ball that’s actually one giant olive but isn’t an olive and is instead some nasty squid ink cake.
ANYWAYS – this challenge screams Buddha. It’s what he does. And of course he excels creating a charcuterie board with cherries that aren’t cherries, a truffle that’s actually a potato, red wine that’s tomato juice (we’ve seen this trick before, yawn). One of the judges was so duped he even thought the toothpick was fake.
So Buddha won, handily, and is en route to Paris.
Joining him is Gabri, a real dark horse in this competition by now. He’s been all over the map this entire season but is also enjoying a friendly run-in with two finishes in the top. The judges loved his take on a Scotchbrite scrub-a-dub, inspired from his time as a dishwasher.
Meanwhile our boy Ali – he’s OUR boy now – barely survives after a garden with some turtles. One judge complained that it was more “inspired” by a garden than it did resemble a garden. And the soil was a bit dry, which begs the question – what will the turtles drink?
Anyways, Ali is safe but is limping into the finale.
Who is out? TOM. Which surprised your HIC as Tom’s dish, featuring seaweed in the form of caviar, seemed a lot more inventive and true to the challenge than Ali or Last Chance Kitchen winner Sara.
But Tom’s out. And so we’re down to four: Ali, Buddha, Gabri and Sara.
Next week our quartet embark to Paris for the final two challenges of the season. Get hyped!
Fitzie’s track of the day: Rosarita, by Sam Morrow
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold rates every player for Tottenham this season
Dan KP: Tottenham need a ‘total transfer reset’
Manchester United women’s striker Alessia Russo receives apology over trophy weight comment
Television (not the band) fraud group jailed over illegally streaming Premier League fixtures
