We open this episode with a topless Dale, and the ginormous tree tattoo that covers his entire back. Let’s just move on.

 

Our guest judge this week is Stephen Alexander of Cumbrae Farms. He’s a butcher, and Thea tells us he’s one of the most respected meat purveyors in Canada. Stephen’s brought two pigs to the Top Chef Kitchen, which must be butchered to his standards. Cheftestants draw knives to reveal their teams as well as the cut they will be responsible for. Francois randomly selects Hog Wild! which means he has instant immunity. Immunity for not doing anything? Lame. The teams are:

 

 

Black Team: Connie, Chris, Dustin, Dale, Todd

White Team: Patrick, Rob, Andrea, Darryl, Jamie

 

Honestly this is a little hard for me to watch, especially when the hand saws come out. Someone calls Connie the Bacon Ninja which is amazing. Everyone yells at Patrick. Dusty Gallagher cuts himself. At the end it’s Dusty and Andrea going head-to-head, with Dustin finishing first. Black team wins and gets an extra $100 for their shopping budget.

 

The Elimination Challenge this week is to cook for 100 guests at a cocktail party in benefit of Food Banks Canada. The chefs don’t know where they will be cooking yet, and the next morning find themselves on a short bus going back to school. George Brown Chef School! I’m kind of obsessed. Mark’s in the house, with John Higgins, the Director of the GBCS. In a neat twist, the cheftestants will have a student chef as their sous for the day, and get to act as a mentor. I love this! Chefs have three hours to prepare two hors d’oeuvres, one of which has to use the cut of pork they were responsible for in the Quickfire.

 

There’s some bonding happening in the kitchen, and I’m surprised to see Dale loving life as a mentor. Andrea and her sous are getting along great, and she shouts out all the upcoming female chefs in the industry. Dustin gives Patrick a hug and calls him a sweaty bitch. Jamie thinks he’s going to win this challenge, with a dish Rob describes as shit logs.

 

Let’s fast forward straight to the supply closet. Thea calls in Andrea, Dale, Rob and Dustin. They are the best! The judges agree that Andrea’s savoury dry rubbed pork loin with polenta was the best of the day. Shereen loved that she went outside of her comfort zone and tried making dessert for her second dish, even though it wasn’t as good as the savoury dish.  Rob’s pork rillette was perfectly executed, and Shereen loved his crab and scallop croquette.  Mark loved Dale’s pork thai broth, which John called liquid gold! The pork leg in his second dish was also pefectly cooked. Dustin’s dishes were a great combination of flavours, starting with the pork loin with braised turnip (among a few other components I missed) and finishing with an apple terrine dessert. Thea asked if they all liked working with their partners, and everyone had a great time.

 

The winner: Dale

 

He calls in Patrick, Todd, Jamie and Darryl, who had the worst dishes.  Darryl’s tartar was overseasoned with too much dill, and Mark says it was borderline unedible. Mark thought Jamie’s salmon mousse tasted like paste and/or cat food, and Shereen is offended as to why he would whip fish. Todd’s main issue was that his pork dish had no contrast in textures, and his ceviche was not cold enough. Patrick’s pork dish had no character, and the mussel on his gazpacho was all wrong. Thea asks how they enjoyed working with their sous chefs, and Jamie says it took his focus away from his dishes. Jerk! Why would you say that in front of the Director of the school?  Darryl, bless his heart, interjects to say he loved to see the passion from the students in the kitchen. 

 

Going home: Jamie