Author: Mike Farley (Page 26 of 117)

Hell’s Kitchen: palates and crustaceans

Fox gave us another two-hour episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” last night, and it’s becoming clear that they are trying to get the show out of the way before the fall. Next week the MLB all-star game is on Fox, so we’ll have a reprieve, and then on July 27 Gordon Ramsay’s new “Master Chef” show will begin and probably share air time with “Hell’s Kitchen.” Either way, we sure are moving swiftly, and are down to the final 6. Here is how we got there last night…..

EPISODE 1

This episode was the palate episode, but it began with Ramsay serving the remaining 8 chefs a dish he claimed to have created. He asked for their opinion of the chicken dish, and each of them raved about it. Then he broke it to them….it was a frozen meal. Ha! That should have been a sign of what was to come, and it was….the palate test. This is the one where he blindfolds each chef and puts headphones on them, and asks them to name what he puts in their mouth.

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Top Chef DC: pies and picnics

Ah, a nice one hour episode. That’s what Bravo gives us each week for “Top Chef,” unlike “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox, which has become a two-hour marathon akin to “American Idol” on Tuesdays. But I digress. Last night’s episode began with Kenny getting a letter from his girlfriend as encouragement, something he needed after finishing second to Angelo time and again, and then being on the chopping block last week. Meanwhile, Angelo was still seething about how Kenny threw him under the bus at the judges’ table last week. Dude, you were playing the game, remember? You totally deserved that.

Then renowned pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini and regular judge Gail Simmons were there with Padma to introduce the quick fire challenge. Johnny and Gail will be the co-hosts of a new show, “Top Chef: Just Desserts” soon. Anyway, their challenge was to create a pie from scratch in two hours. The winner of the challenge would have immunity for the week.

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Hell’s Kitchen: making short work of Season 7

The producers and suits at Fox are annoying me. I am and have been a fan of “Hell’s Kitchen” for several years now, but I don’t need to see 2 hours of it every Tuesday night. It just seems like they are trying to get the season over with. I mean, we started on June 1 and now there are just 8 contestants left, meaning this season will wrap up way before the fall TV slate is close to beginning. I’m not sure what they’re thinking, but they probably have their reasons. Anyway, I’m committed to this blog, so here we go….

EPISODE 1

This episode began with Chef Ramsay introducing a couple that was about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Sal and Marcy. Hell’s Kitchen would be catering the party, and the chefs would have to update the menu that Sal and Marcy had for their wedding reception–chicken Kiev, steak Diane, and trout almondine. So far, Ben, new to the red team, was getting along with his teammates. So far.

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The Next Food Network Star: you either have it or you don’t

Last night’s episode of “The Next Food Network Star” featured two unique challenges. The first was a chili pepper challenge, in which the 9 remaining chefs had to stake their claim to a specific type of chili pepper on a table and then create at dish with it to present on camera for 30 seconds. The winner would have their dish featured at all three of Bobby Flay’s restaurants.

Paul made a scallop dish with habanero and coconut sauce; DAS made some sort of sushi with tuna; Aria made a pork tenderloin with chili marinade; Herb a yellow chili spring roll with crab salad; Brianna made chili and chicken kabobs; Serena had Anaheim peppers and made a salad with mango and avocado; Tom made poblano with chorizo; Aarti made a steak with serrano chutney; and Brad made chicken and shrimp with coconut peanut sauce using Thai chiles.

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Top Chef DC: cafeteria cuisine

Never shy about making the challenges on “Top Chef” interesting, the producers of this awesome Bravo show threw yet another curve ball to the chef-testants last night on episode 2. Along with guest judge Sam Kass, who is the assistant White House chef, Padma announced the quick fire challenge, which was the “bi-partisandwich” challenge…even the names of these challenges are creative. But wait, there’s more. They would work in groups of two, in an apron for two, meaning one person could use their left hand and the other their right hand, making it even more difficult to make a simple sandwich in 30 minutes. They drew knives to determine who they’d be working with.

Tamesha and Amanda, with their basic grilled cheese with prosciutto; and Tiffany and Lynne’s saltimbocca sandwich were the worst two in Kass’ eyes. And the best two? Angelo and Tracey’s flounder sandwich with spicy mayo; and Kenny and Ed’s Korean ahi tuna sandwich with cucumber. And once again, Angelo’s team won the top prize, which for this week was immunity for both he and Tracey. Kenny again came in second and was annoyed.

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