‘Top Chef: Wisconsin’ Episode 2 Recap

BY ARCHER PARQUETTE & ANN CHRISTENSON

It’s week two of “Top Chef: Wisconsin,” friends, and Milwaukee remains in the spotlight. This week saw the judges descending into the Miller Caves to judge some beer-inspired dishes. 

Here’s the lowdown on what happened, sliced and chopped into some crucial categories for you, including thoughts and analysis from our dining critic, Ann Christenson.

Be warned, spoilers abound. And check back in the weeks ahead – we’ll be recapping every episode.

Episode 2 Recap (The Basics)

• This week’s Quickfire challenge was suitably Milwaukee-inspired – the chefs were tasked with creating a dish that incorporates hops, the plant used to brew beer. Contestant Amanda Turner said they were “like oregano on steroids.” Personally, I’ve always thought oregano could work on its delts a bit more, so I’m all for it. 
• Joe Flamm, the winner of “Top Chef” season 15 showed up to guest judge the Quickfire. 
• The Quickfire Challenge win went to Laura Ozyilmaz, a San Francisco chef, who took home $5,000 dollars for her hop-infused rice pudding. She said she was going to “really enjoy a great dinner.” Man, those California dining prices must be out of control. 
• Next, it was time for the Elimination Challenge. The chefs were split into two teams, Red and Yellow, and tasked with a challenge close to the hearts of many a barfly – using bar snacks like popcorn, pickles, potato chips and mixed nuts to make elevated fine dining fare. Each team had to serve seven courses, one for each chef. 
• After another rapid-fire Whole Foods run, the chefs were off to the Miller Caves, where they set up their makeshift kitchen outside while the judges waited in the caverns below, where once the brewers of Milwaukee past stored their mighty ales.
• A bevy of guests filled the table, including some local favorites like Charlie Berens and “Wisconsin Foodie” host Luke Zahm, and after a long, quippy tasting process over 14 competing dishes, a winner was chosen. 
• The Yellow Team bested the Red, saving all seven members from elimination. 
• Rasika Venkatesa took home immunity in next week’s challenge for her bold dessert – barley pretzel cake with pretzel granita and honey mustard sabayon, a dish she made with liquid nitrogen. (I once scooped ice cream out of a carton with a Nokia cell phone – so, you know, we all innovate in our own ways.) On top of her immunity next week, she also won a saucy $10,000, which she said was going in her savings. We support a fiscally responsible chef. 
• As this week’s losers in the Elimination Challenge, three Red Team members had to face the possibility of getting axed from the show: Valentine Howell Jr., Charly Pierre and Kévin D’Andrea. The judges deliberated, as they’re known to do.
• Aaaand Valentine went home. (Or, I guess, to “Last Chance Kitchen,” where eliminated chefs compete for redemption.) His beer and corn kernel soup with pickled fresh corn was just too thick, according to Tom. More of a sauce than a soup. Never sauce your soup – that’s what they all say. 

Wisconsin Highlights

• “See you in the caves.” This week’s Elimination Challenge took place in the atmospheric, historic caves beneath the old Miller Brewing complex. 
• The Miller Caves dinner was full of Wisconsin guests:
  • It’s your boy, Charlie Berens! Chucky B! The ol’ CB! Bear Down Berens! Gotta love seeing Charlie, whose title card listed him as “The Champagne of Comedians.” He sipped some High Life and politely refused to harshly judge any of the dishes, as only a good Wisconsin fella could do. His take on Kenny Nguyen’s potato chip pavé was fantastic: “Kenny brings that sucker to the potluck, it’s not lasting long and he will get an invite back.”
  • Luke Zahm, the host of “Wisconsin Foodie” and the chef behind Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, dropped some wisdom during the dinner, providing thoughtful critiques of each dish. 
  • Kyle Knall, the chef behind Milwaukee all-star restaurant Birch joined Tom, Gail, Kristen and the crew, too.
  • Jamie Brown-Soukaseume from Ahan restaurant in Madison was there, as well, and her presence reminded us that soon enough the show will move beyond Milwaukee to feature on the rest of our awesome state. But for now, we’re loving the MKE focus. 

• The episode opened with chefs Michelle Wallace and Manny Barella taking a stroll by the river. Shoutout the river – it still kind of looks green in those drone shots though. 
  • The advertising banners on the streetlights were blurred out. What ads were they hiding?!
• In response to the first course of the elimination challenge, Kristen Kish said, “Personally I don’t like starting with dairy as my first course” And Joe Flamm responded, “You can’t say that in Wisconsin.” Damn right, Joe. You haven’t really lived here unless you’ve opened your day by gnawing on some colby jack. 
• More sweet scene-setting shots of Milwaukee were featured on this episode. There was a particularly eye-catching one of City Hall.

Checking in on Dan Jacobs, Wisconsin’s Cheftestant

• First off, Dan had a few killer quotes this week. Let us appreciate them here:
  • “It’s another beautiful day for greatness.”
  • When asked how he was feeling about the quickfire challenge – “Slow. Old. But you know what, that’s what I am.”
  • “I’m excited for moneeeeeeey.”
• Also, Dan had some killer fits. That tye-dye shirt, that blue baseball cap. They should call this show “Top Fashion Clothes Man.” Not really. They shouldn’t do that. That wouldn’t be a very good name, and it wouldn’t make any sense, considering the actual content of the show. 
• In the Quickfire Challenge, Dan cooked a charred cabbage salad. It didn’t win him that $5,000, but the judges seemed to like it. 
• Dan joined the Yellow Team for the Elimination Challenge, where he took on the fourth course of the meal, creating a fine dining dish with popcorn. He went with a popcorn mousse with clams, a combination of words I can’t say I ever expected to write. 
• This episode marked a significant moment for Dan, who spoke about his diagnosis with Kennedy’s Disease, a neurological disorder similar to ALS. He explained that it causes those who have it to slowly lose their basic motor functions, including walking and speaking. He hadn’t yet revealed that to the other chefs. “It took me a full six months to really come to terms with it,” he said. 
• Dan had some trouble plating with shaky hands, saying that “30% [of it was] the competition; 70% the Kennedy’s Disease.” Thankfully, his teammates helped him through. 
• Dan’s popcorn mousse won over the judges, with Joe Flamm noting, “This is weird but it works.” 
• After the challenge, Dan revealed his Kennedy’s Disease to his fellow chefs in an emotional moment. “If you see me going slow, it’s not just because I’m old,” he said. Michelle had some nice things to say afterward: “He’s amazing to be able to push through this competition, to be as creative as he is, and he does it with a smile.” 
• What was Dan drinking when the chefs toasted each other? It looked green. A smoothie? Some sort of green juice? The people need to know!
• Dan’s team took home the win! And just like that Wisconsin’s cheftestant will be back, fighting to become Top Chef, next week.

Ann Christenson’s Expert Take

• I was waiting to see when Dan would reveal his diagnosis. What was interesting to me was in the first 15 minutes it felt like the camera was avoiding Dan. Then boom, he comes into focus with the big reveal. He was on the winning Yellow Team in the Elimination Challenge and what we’re seeing is him stepping up as a leader or mentor. He made comments like “I’m slow because I’m old” several times before coming out with his admission that it wasn’t age, it was Kennedy’s Disease, that has slowed him down
• Both challenges were fun from a culinary aspect. I didn’t know hops “smell like weed,” when cooked, as a couple of chefs pointed out. Cheftestant Laura’s hop-infused rice pudding sounded delicious. The elevated bar snacks theme in the Elimination Challenge offered a lot of room for creativity. But as everything here, the pace is so fast, you don’t get to learn that much about each dish. The thing that set off Dan’s reveal was his popcorn dish for that challenge. He was using tweezers to place each piece of popcorn into the bowl so it looked like a bowl of popcorn. (Underneath it was a popcorn mousse with clams.) “The more stressed I get, the harder it is to plate,” he said. 
• Dan is shaping up to be the heart of the show – not just his health diagnosis revelation. He shows a level of support to the other contestants that I haven’t seen coming from anyone else. Not to this degree.
• Most interesting dish of the night, in my opinion, was Rasika’s barley pretzel cake with pretzel granita and honey mustard sabayon. After tasting it, judge Gail Simmons said she’d never had mustard in a dessert before and welcomed it. I would too!
• One of the guest judges I was most excited to see (in the Elimination Challenge) was Jamie Brown-Soukaseume of Madison’s Ahan, an Asian-inspired restaurant whose name means “Food” in the Lao language. It was an interesting guest group overall – including Kyle of Birch (one of my favorite MKE restaurants right now), Luke of “Wisconsin Foodie” fame, and of course, Charlie Berens.
• The teaser for next week’s episode seemed to show Dan taking a spill. I really hope not.

Archer’s Random (Very Much Non-Expert) Thoughts

• This show has so many sponsors. I understand that you gotta make that paper. I mean, I work in journalism – I’d like some paper, myself. But it’s kind of hilarious how everything’s sponsored. I’m just imagining: “This chef had to use the bathroom during the challenge. Our thanks to Charmin for helping them enjoy the go.”
• These episodes are 75 minutes!? I had no idea until it was nine o’clock and the episode just kept going. Nine is normally my bedtime because despite being in my twenties I effectively live the life of an incredibly sad 80-year-old man. Anyway, I’m tired and cranky now. 
• The chefs are really nice to each other, lots of hugging, and they all seemed really sad when Valentine was sent home. We could all use a little of this camaraderie in our lives. 
• I’m rooting for Dan for obvious reasons, but I’d like to say that Kenny’s the man. I met him at the red carpet preview, and he was super nice, but that’s not the only reason here. His nervous, awkward energy is incredibly endearing. Some examples:
  • After almost being eliminated last week, Kenny noted that his “brain feels like a ball of putty at this point.” We get you, man.
  • When talking about his hops dish during the Quickfire Challenge, he tried to say  “I needed to tweak” and instead said, “I needed to twerk.” 
  • He shared that he dropped out of culinary school because he “forgot to sign up again.” 
  • After his disappointing showing in the first episode, he came through with a dish that impressed the judges this time around, which was great to see. Shoutout Kenny.