Well Fed Network

Posted by Patsy Kreitman on Edible TV

This week, the chefs had the pleasure of meeting Martha Stewart during the Quickfire challenge. The theme was to cook a one pot holiday meal. Martha’s overall thoughts were that some of the chefs took the simple concept a bit too far and really could have done better. While Hosea, Jamie and Ariane took it up a notch and really impressed her, Ariane actually surprised Martha when she asked if there was butter in her cauliflower puree and there wasn’t. I think that the flavor and texture really impressed Martha, and she gave Ariane the win for that one. As a bonus, she gave her an autographed copy of her newest cookbook,Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook.

Next up, they were given the challenge of creating appetizers for 300 guests using the 12 Days of Christmas song as their inspiration. Each chef chose a knife and it had the day they would be using as their theme. The appetizers were to be served at an event raising money for amFAR.

Now, every challenge must have some sort of drama, right? This time Hosea and Radhika were the victims. Everyone prepped their dishes the night before and placed their food into the over-stuffed refrigerators. This was a problem waiting to happen. When they arrived the next morning, one refrigerator was left open and all the food inside had spoiled. Thankfully, there was additional pork loin and Radhika had kept the rest of her duck in another refrigerator. What was most impressive was how the other chefs all jumped in to help them both prep again and get ready. It was so uplifting to watch them pull together like that. I really like seeing that they are good people and not just out to let someone else go down in that situation.

There were some interesting choices made, one being Ariane’s Deviled Eggs 6 ways. As Tom mentioned, how can someone win making deviled eggs? Good question. Stefan’s Chicken Pot Pie went over really well with the judges and the guests. It was hard to tell if Jeff’s dish was popular because it tasted good or because the women were hitting on him. He did receive quite a lot of red ribbons on his board. Hosea didn’t do so bad either with his pork dish.

While there were winners this time around, overall the judges were not impressed by the food. They felt it was too simplified for what they were all capable of at this stage of the game. Instead of bringing the bottom 4 back into the judges table, Tom went to the ‘stew room’ to talk to all of them. He said that they need to step it up and really start cooking to win. He also told them that since they all pulled together to help their fellow chefs, that this week no one would be sent home. A holiday gift from the judges.

Next week, it looks like the chefs will get the chance to show what they can really do… a challenge with NO LIMITS! I do hope we get a peek into how they prepare their dishes, as that is what I find the most interesting. It would be nice to see more their techniques and how they pull a dish together as that is what makes a great chef.

Photo courtesy of Bravo TV.