This story contains spoilers about episode 6 of “Top Chef.” Read more of our “Top Chef: Wisconsin” coverage here.
Episode 6 of “Top Chef’s” season 21 is now in the books. And it was a doozy! Here are its biggest moments:
1.The episode is titled “Chaos Cuisine” for reasons that soon become apparent. But first, the return of a familiar chef, plus a new one! Kaleena is back – and she brought someone with her, Soo Kyo Ahn, the chef from “Last Chance Kitchen.” When chefs have been eliminated this season from “Top Chef,” they’ve gone on to battle Ahn at “Last Chance Kitchen.” Kaleena was one of those eliminated chefs. Not only was her return a shocker, Ahn has now been thrown into the mix of cheftestants, as the 16th competitor. Kaleena’s and Soo’s food were “quite frankly some of the best stuff I’ve eaten all season,” said judge Tom Colicchio. Kaleena said to the cheftestants: “You must be like, ‘Now you’ve got to eliminate this b-tch again!’” The twist seemed to have an unexpected caveat – Kish said because two chefs were added back into the competition via “Last Chance Kitchen”), they “have the ability to send two out.” Hmm.
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2. The Quickfire Challenge centered on another Wisconsin ingredient – dairy. Guest judge Christina Tosi (two-time James Beard Award-winning pastry chef and CEO of Milk Bar in New York City) tasked the cheftestants with making a dairy-based dessert – a “legend-dairy dessert,” as host Kristen Kish put it. Some chefs were not relishing having to make a dessert (Manny) but others were super into it. Amanda incorporated cheddar and banana into her cheddar biscuit with banana pastry cream. Soo did a play on a PB&J. Dan decided to make a chocolate pudding but the problem, he said, was that it’s a vegan recipe. So he added cream cheese as the dairy component. And Kaleena sought to redeem herself for the bad cheesecake that caused her demise from the competition in an earlier episode.
3. Host Kristin Kish says she’s tasted a lot of a frozen custard in Wisconsin – “some good, some great.” Dan immediately pipes up: “What’s your favorite?” Kish: “I can’t tell you that; there’ll be a war on social media.” Despite a little drama – Laura is not coming off as much of a team player. “Laura is in another world,” Dan said – the competition sped quickly to the finish line. Michelle was crowned the winner with her corn cake dessert. Dan ended up in the judges’ bottom three. One of the judges said it had a “mouthy peanut butter texture.”
4. The piece de resistance was the identity of this week’s guest judge for the Elimination Challenge… Matty Matheson, the Canadian chef-cum-actor appearing on Hulu’s “The Bear.” Amanda summed it up best: “This is the best day of my life.”
5. EMBRACE CHAOS. Matheson explained the theme of the challenge. “Chaos is an amalgamation of where did you come from, what have you learned, where are you going, what’s your culinary voice. Chaos is every single day. My mind is just absolute chaos. I want you to do whatever you feel. Dream the biggest dream. I want you take something, create it, destroy it, build it up again, throw it on the floor, throw it up at the ceiling, grab things, use techniques you’ve never used before…. Break the mold of culinary convention.”
6. “Chaos Cuisine” was meant to challenge them and it did just that. Soo wasn’t sure what he was going to make, though he said he works well under pressure. “I feel like a deer in headlights. I’m always scared. I’m never not scared” he said. Dan called himself “chaotic neutral” – but he had immunity from the week before so he could have decided not to put any effort into it and he would have been OK. The chefs were each given $150 to use at a specialty store of their choice. They’d have the “Top Chef” kitchen to cook in – and the bounty of ingredients available to them there.
7. Shout outs to El Rey, Mo’s Market and Adom African Market. The chefs shopped in groups at the various stores. The cheftestants were getting pumped. Rasika said, “I want them to see how chaotic this 25-year-old can be.” Dan was excited to shop in a store (Mo’s) that he goes to three times a week for his restaurants. “Anyone see yuzu kosho?” Danny called out. “Lemongrass?” shouted Michelle. “Chef, do you know if they have corn syrup here?” Soo asked Dan. Savannah: “Chaotic cuisine means to me that you’re not playing by old school rules. I’m leaning into memory here. I made a dessert that had mustard greens on it for no particular reason. It didn’t really make sense. I want to prove that I’ve learned a lot [since].”
8. The challenge yielded so many interesting dishes – the most interesting of any of the competitions yet this season. Danny made stuffed cabbage. Dan did an okonomiyaki funnel cake (a play on the Japanese street food pancake). Rasika experimented with eggplant and king crab. Kevin made a dish that he wanted to “look like an atom.” Amanda incorporated a black garlic pasta dough.
9. The judge’s dining table was fierce! Besides Kish, Colicchio, Simmons and Matheson, there were two additional guests – Phillip Foss, chef/owner of EL Ideas in Chicago. His food breathes chaos. And Sophia, a James Beard Award-winning chef, a writer and a TV host.
10. The dishes were incredibly eclectic. The top four: Dan’s funnel cake, Danny’s stuffed cabbage, Soo’s crispy shrimp with two sauces, and Savannah’s mustard dessert. Bottom two: Rasika’s crab stuffed-eggplant dish (which one judge called “slimy”) and Michelle’s stuffed pita.
11. Someone gains immunity, another leaves. Danny wins the challenge with a dish Colicchio said was one of the best dishes he’d had in the 21 years he’d been doing the show. And surprise of surprises, Rasika – who had been a front-runner for weeks – was told to go. But this might not be the end – she’s headed to “Last Chance Kitchen” for an opportunity to redeem herself. Until next week!
