The third episode of “Top Chef: Wisconsin” brought cherries, doors, tears, marshmallows, croquettes and plenty of cheese (almost an alarming amount, quite frankly).
This week’s Quickfire Challenge saw the cheftestants pairing mystery ingredients like chicken livers and ginseng with Door County cherries. And then the Elimination Challenge, took them out of of Milwaukee for the first time this season, as each chef was given a random cheese and challenged to make the cheese-based dish possible at a “Cheese Fest.”
Be warned, spoilers lie ahead.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Michelle Wallace once again impressed, taking home the win and immunity next week, while Kenny Nguyen’s cheesy dish didn’t pass muster (muenster?) with the judges, sending him to “Last Chance Kitchen.”
Three of our editors sat down to talk about what went down – and how “Top Chef” showed off more of Wisconsin.
- Ann Christenson – Dining Editor
- Chelsea Mamerow – Art Director, “Top Chef” Superfan
- Archer Parquette – Managing Editor, Noted Weirdo
Archer: Chelsea, this episode was a special one for you. You’re actually in it! You attended the “Cheese Fest” filming in the summer. What was that experience like?
Chelsea: I am! Briefly. Staring right at the camera, not weird at all. I’ve watched the show for several years and getting a peek at the behind the scenes was just as cool as I hoped. That day was HOT, though! There was a lot of waiting for the first few hours after arriving. They were very secretive about the location of the “Cheese Fest.” We waited in a church parking lot in Oconomowoc, were shuttled to another location as a holding area, where we stayed for around an hour and a half before being shuttled again to The Cupola Barn, where the taping took place.
Archer: So as one of the guests, you actually got to taste the cheftestants’ dishes. What’s the inside scoop? Who brought the deliciousness?
Chelsea: As we arrived we were handed a folded card where we could rate each dish. There are still a lot of contestants this early in the season so there was a lot of cheese to taste … and a few of the dishes ran out before I had a chance to taste them. Including Dan’s – I was SO sad about that. But my favorite of what I tasted was absolutely Michelle’s. I also vividly remember Danny’s – which I described as like a cheesy churro. Why did so many of them choose to make a croquette, and no one did a play on a fried cheese curd!
Archer: It’s worth mentioning that this was the first episode that Dan ended up one of the favorites! Up to now, he was just floating in purgatory, with food neither loved nor hated. Nice to see him get some recognition.
Ann: I was happy to see it. He had that slip in the kitchen, right, dropping his gnocchi?
Archer: Yeah, that seemed like the first real moment of conflict between chefs this season.
Chelsea: The gasp through the room at our watch party when Dan fell! We’re all invested in him and that was scary! I think he handled it well. He was rightfully upset, but it seemed like he was able to move on quickly.
Ann: This is a competition – no disputing that – but Dan really seems to see the group as a team. He’s the one often shouting “5 minutes left!” or “Let’s get cheesy!”
Archer: Kevin, the French chef, called him “Mr. Wisconsin.” I love that. He’s doing a great job repping us so far. And yeah, he brings a bit of a “group dad” vibe.
Ann: The cheese fest competition was another great Milwaukee chef moment. The Diplomat’s Dane Baldwin was the guest judge.
Chelsea: We were waiting outside the entrance where the chefs were cooking when I spotted Dane with the judges. That was a super exciting moment for me, having met Dane a few times for photoshoots with MilMag, I can say he is so humble and authentic. I’m thrilled he got this opportunity.
Archer: I thought he did a great job. You can kind of tell when a guest isn’t quite on par with Tom and Gail’s judging skills, but he was dropping insight on all the dishes with the best of ’em
Ann: Can we talk about the Quickfire Challenge? It was clever – a different mystery ingredient behind each of those small doors (a play on Door County). This is where the fateful marshmallow came up. I think that’s just a lousy ingredient.
Archer: Poor Kenny could never catch a break!
Ann: Archer, he was one of your favorites, right? He was an underdog. I’ve loved following Michelle and Rasika. They are both rocking it.
Archer: Yup, I was really hoping he could hold out a little longer. I always support an awkward dude. Michelle’s clearly the front-runner right now though. Every week, even if she’s not winning, she’s consistently impressing the judges.
Chelsea: Maybe Kenny will come back through Last Chance Kitchen! He was back in Milwaukee for the premiere party hosted by Visit Milwaukee. Makes me wonder! I’m definitely rooting for Michelle – and Dan of course – but I really like Michelle.
Ann: Chelsea, did you get to talk to any of the judges when you were there?
Chelsea: Not at this taping. During the festival, everyone was instructed to not talk to a judge unless they spoke to you.
Archer: That’s kind of funny. “Do not speak to the fancy TV people, unless spoken to.”
Chelsea: Haha, yeah. But I get it – they’re working and I’m sure some would have bombarded them if not warned. They were friendly.
Ann: Can I say this? Tom Colicchio seems a little grumpy. Did he come off that way in person?
Chelsea: I would say more reserved than grumpy, like “Yeah, yeah. I’ve done this 21 times now, no big deal.”
Archer: Dude’s a pro. Also, he had a purple scarf on at the premiere. No man in a purple scarf can be grumpy. It’s a law.
Ann: Yeah, Colicchio is stylish! Definitely nice threads. I know people who were huge Padma Lakshmi fans. I didn’t watch many of the previous seasons and didn’t form an opinion on her. But I think Kristen is doing a great job. She seems like a natural.
Chelsea: I am really enjoying Kristin! She’s a bit more casual than Padma, maybe? She’s direct but it’s always layered with understanding.
Ann: Hey, she’s from the Midwest – Michigan! Midwest nice.
Archer: Although she did say “too much cheese” about one of the dishes, which is blasphemy.
Chelsea: I had that quesadilla and can confirm, it was too much cheese. That dish didn’t do much for me.
Archer: Blasphemer! Every true Wisconsinite can survive off cheese and cheese alone.
Chelsea: Well, I’m from California and understand how unhealthy that is.
Archer: Ok. Fair. But I will bleed for the cheese. For the heritage of my forefathers. For the freedom of dairy we have fought for over generations. Anyway, I’m taking this off the rails.
Ann: What about the cheesemakers? Andy Hatch (of Uplands’ Pleasant Ridge Reserve fame) is amazing. I thought it was cool to see so many of them at the cheese fest – and hear what they thought of dishes using their own cheeses.
Chelsea: I spoke with Ricardo Gutierrez, a cheesemaker at Door Artisan Cheese Company, for a while that day. He was so friendly and excited to be there. From what I understand, the support of The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, and in turn the cheesemakers, is one of the assets that brought the season to Milwaukee.
Ann: So after episode three, our frontrunners are Michelle and…? Amanda with the crazy laugh? Danny? Rasika? Dan?
Chelsea: If I had to predict a top three right now it would be Dan (have to!), Michelle and Rasika.
Archer: I echo that Big 3. Not a frontrunner right now, but Alisha had my favorite quote of the episode: “These bees, they smell fear. They know.”
Ann: Kaleena’s good, too. She had the Sartori Merlot BellaVitano cheese. Chelsea, do you remember her dish? One of the judges said it was “spot on.”
Chelsea: I do! I remember it being delicious – but also as delicious as other cheesy pastas I’ve had? When you’ve watched for a lot of seasons I think the idea that all of this food is really special seeps in. I know that’s how I felt going into the taping. In reality, it was a lot of tasty food, but not that different from great meals I’ve had before. Except for the few that really stand out, like the cheese with collard greens combo from Michelle and the cheesy churro from Danny.
Ann: So what are we looking out for in next week’s episode? The preview mentioned dishes inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Archer: Looks like they’re heading to Madison!
Chelsea: I’m really curious where they go with this! I’m expecting really beautiful creations. But how will they interpret the feeling of Frank Lloyd Wright into a flavor?!
Ann: Yeah, that is something I’m pondering too. Will they visit Taliesen, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Spring Green?
Archer: I suppose we shall see. Well, until next week, I guess, folks!
