It’s now Episode 10 of “Top Chef: Wisconsin” and only six cheftestants remain. This week’s theme is Door County Fish Boil, with a side of meat. Guest judge/James Beard Award-winning chef Art Smith joins the group and presents the Quickfire Challenge. The tradition of the meat raffle – literally, raffling off meat – is the premise. In what is now becoming a trend, the chefs are once again put in cooking situations designed to rattle them.
The Elimination Challenge was tougher than anything we’ve seen so far. The cheftestants had to make a fish boil (including the fish and two sides) for the judges – and 100 people – on the beach! It gets better (or worse, depending on how you look at it): Each cheftestant was paired up with a different “Top Chef” All-Star, and the cheftestants weren’t allowed to shop for their own ingredients. The All-Stars did it for them, the catch being that they didn’t know what the All-Stars would end up buying. No wonder the chefs all looked like they were going to lose their sh-t.
MilMag digital editor Brianna Schubert was one of those 100 people at the Fish Boil challenge, filmed last summer at Grant Park beach in South Milwaukee. Schubert, art director Chelsea Mamerow (who was at the Restaurant Wars episode), senior editorial designer Susan Evenson (who attended this week’s Quickfire) and dining critic Ann Christenson talk about what went down in the latest episode – the surprises, the drama, the food and more.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
Ann: When Savannah – who won the Elimination Challenge in Episode 9 – picked corned beef for her meat in this week’s Quickfire, Danny said, “That takes a lot of confidence.” Savannah has really evolved – and become more confident – with each episode. In the beginning, I didn’t see her going this far. What did you think of the Quickfire?
Brianna: I was surprised by her choice of corned beef! I also didn’t know corned beef comes in a can. Is that always the case?
Ann: Not always the case, no, but it does come in a can! I had mad respect for Soo picking lunch meat!
Brianna: Me too! And Michelle chose ground chicken. I’d never choose chicken for a short challenge like this because it’s dicey to make sure it’s fully cooked. And we saw she didn’t cook hers all the way… not good. Susan, you were at the Quickfire Challenge, right?
Susan: I was! It was great to see it all unfold from behind the scenes.
Ann: What were you able to see?
Susan: We were watching backstage on monitors, so finding out about the guest judge, Art Smith, in real time was fun. I was new to the concept of a meat raffle, and so curious about some of the choices the chefs made.
Ann: I have been curious for weeks now – how long are the chefs given to plan what they will make for the Quickfire? Like, 10 minutes? Longer, shorter?
Susan: It seemed like maybe 20-30 minutes? Once they had their meat chosen, they all ran off set. They reset all the cameras for the next shot(s), so it seemed like they had the amount of time that took. They didn’t run to grab ingredients right away, but they must have gone to do their planning. I’m not sure how that all was edited in the end, but I was surprised about that gap.
Chelsea: Right, when Kristin yelled “your time starts now!” they really did run to the pantry… but then they stopped and left the set without grabbing anything. The cameras and lights have to be reset to shoot the cooking, so the chefs have that holding time to start planning what they are going to make. But once cameras are ready they really do only have 30 minutes to get their ingredients from the pantry, cook and plate.
Ann: Fascinating! Did it look like the chefs were struggling with the choices they made, Susan?
Susan: If they struggled, we didn’t see it. One detail I am just remembering was that each chef had a camera devoted to them. When it was “go time,” the whole center of the room was full of cameras capturing details on each chef as they rushed to complete the challenge.
Chelsea: I was amazed watching the episode that they are able to stay out of each other’s shots so well! You never see another camera in that room.
Ann: Another thing that I wonder if anyone notices from week to week: While they’re cooking, they are asking each other what they’re making. It sounds like maybe they’re prompted to do that?
Susan: I don’t recall them getting prompted to ask or if it was happening spontaneously, but it really felt like a positive environment, even with how rushed everything was. From backstage everyone was rooting for each chef – everyone behind the scenes was invested in and really rooting for them.
Ann: That’s what’s great about it – they seem to support each other.
Chelsea: One of my favorite memories from visiting the different filmings happened while we were backstage, well out of earshot of the film set. We were near the producers who were gathered around their giant wall of monitors watching what was happening on each of those cameras. There were a lot of natural reactions coming from them as we listened to the filming, laughter, groans, cheering, I loved how authentic it felt. When we were within 20 seconds of the “hands up” call, and Michelle wasn’t finished plating they were calling out her name, cheering, I remember someone saying “come on Michelle, you can do it!” or something like that. It was clear that they were genuinely invested in what was happening – and just as excited as I was.
And I don’t know if anyone will find this as interesting as I did, but the judges table, where they stand to try the food, has cubbies with bins for collecting the dirty plates. After trying each dish, the judges cleared their own plate and then diligently wiped the surface before the next was brought up. To me, it showed that Kristin, Gail and Tom are more than just talent hosting the show, they are invested too and want it to be the best. Or maybe I’m just a superfan.
Ann: I love that!… I wonder if the judges are ever thinking, “Well, if I had that ingredient, this is what I’d do.” Chelsea, you had the chance to ask a question related to the meat challenge. Can you explain?
Chelsea: Yes! During that time when they were resetting the lights and cameras, we were able to go interview each of the judges. I asked which of the meats they would have chosen from the raffle. Tom said ground chicken – he would have made a stuffed pepper with some of the little peppers they had on set. Gail chose the lamb chop, because it would offer a way to differentiate itself with its “very distinct flavor.” Kristin was non-committal – she said that it “truly does not matter what product you’re given. It’s about what can offer you the most inspiration in that moment.” Though she followed that up by saying if she were picking what to take home and cook for herself it would be the Wagyu ribeye.
Ann: Who can resist a Wagyu ribeye?
Brianna: So, I’m dying to talk about the fish boil. I got to be one of the 100 diners at it, and it was so much fun! The weather was beautiful, but windy.
Ann: Tell us what it was like! The chefs mention the wind in the episode – and the heat. How much were you able to see?
Brianna: We were instructed to sit around picnic tables and just hang out (and enjoy some complimentary drinks) while the chefs were prepping their food. I picked a table that was relatively close to the front so I could get a great view. And what a view! It’s not every day you see six fish boils set up all at once. The chefs not only had to prep and cook their meals, but they had to keep adding wood to the fires and when it was time to boil them over, they had to put the lids on themselves. And because it was windy the fire blew everywhere, with black smoke blowing at some of the chef’s little tents. It was wild. And really hot.
Ann: To be fair, they did have that badass dude named Torch – a fish boil “master” – dousing kerosene on the fire. When Chelsea was at Restaurant Wars, she said they were instructed to block off the whole night. How much did you know ahead of time?
Brianna: We knew we’d be there for the afternoon, but that was about it. It was a pretty long time, but honestly it was nice to just sit outside and enjoy the lake during the workday. I was also so excited to see that Dan Jacobs was still in it. It’s been hard to keep that a secret all this time.
Ann: Dan has been killing it. Tell me more about what you ate, saw, etc. Were you able to talk to other guests there?
Brianna: Yeah! All the press sat at a table together – so it was me and Rachel Bernard from the Journal Sentinel and Barb Zaferos from the Milwaukee Business Journal (and a few other folks, like freelancers).
Ann: So did you know who won the Elimination Challenge?
Brianna: Nope, not until it aired. We had to leave before they announced it. But I was so thrilled to see they were in the top three when I watched the episode air because they had truly delicious meals. And I must say, I was hesitant that any of them would be good because fish boils are generally kinda gross to me…
Ann: That NDA has to be buttoned up really tight…. Tell me about the food you tried – you got to try dishes from two chefs, right?
Brianna: Yes, I got to try Dan’s and Danny’s dishes.
Ann: Both sounded great. Danny brined his fish and served it with salsa verde, carrot slaw and French bean and bonito salad. Dan went Asian – a red curry boil with a coconut-peanut slaw that guest judge Art Smith said was so good he “invented” it. How were they?
Brianna: Danny’s sides were insane. I remember thinking they paired perfectly with the fish, super refreshing. Dan’s broth made his dish a fave for me though – there was so much flavor packed into it that it made the fish boil feel like it wasn’t a fish boil at all (which to me, is a win).
Ann: It sounds like you weren’t able to see some of the drama unfolding – Savannah cut her hand, severely enough that she had to leave and go to urgent care. Danny had to step in and plate her food for her. It was obvious it was extremely physically demanding.
So in the end, the judges’ favorites were Danny, Dan and Michelle – who did a Cajun boil with charred corn and kale salad, potatoes and sausage, and peach and garlic butter sauce. At the bottom were Manny, Savannah and Soo. With Savannah having won the Quickfire, it seemed likely that she wouldn’t be told to leave. That left Manny (who made a Mexican boil with tostadas and guacamole that the judges said was too simple) and Soo, whose fish boil, the judges thought, had too much going on: pineapple curry, fish sauce beurre blanc, twice-cooked potatoes and crispy corn miso slaw. To my surprise, they booted Soo. Manny has been a weak link in at least the last few episodes. I honestly can’t believe he’s still there. Soo was sent back to “Last Chance Kitchen,” with the potential to return.
What’s next? In the preview of Episode 11, someone comes back from “Last Chance Kitchen” and the Elimination Challenge is a weird one – dishes inspired by the trend of serving food directly on a tabletop. Until next week!
