And we’re back for Episode 2! Quick thought right off the top – why didn’t the show move production to a new city for the new season like they do on original Top Chef? Think of all the fresh seafood they would have had access to in Halifax, or all the fun challenges they could have done racing around Vancouver and going to the farmer’s market on Granville Island. Anyway.

Lisa Ray’s here in an amazing wrap dress, and introducing our Guest Judge for the night, Mike Holmes. I don’t really know much about this guy except he’s on HGTV (I think) and does home improvement shows and my sister-in-law Debbie loves his assistant (who was that again?). Lisa unveils a huge wall of construction tools, and the Quickfire is to construct a refined dish using only these tools. Lots of handsaws, big exacto knives and rubber mallet smashing later, we have the top three dishes of Carl’s huge pork chop, Trista’s chicken salad sandwich and Gabriell’s veloute soup with chorizo and mussels.

The winner is Gabriell! He’s so surprised and excited to get immunity. 

The Elimination Challenge this week is to cook for 100 construction workers who are building a house for Habitat for Humanity. Chefs will work in three teams of five chefs, and draw knives to determine the teams. They are:

Green Team: David, Gabriell, Carl, Jonathan, Elizabeth

Red Team: Sarah, Trista, Curtis, Sergio, Jamie

Yellow Team: Kunal, Ryan, Trevor, Joel, Xavier

Oh snap you guys, cheftestants aren’t shopping in the Queens Quay Loblaws this year! I won’t get brainwashed into filling a shopping cart with PC products like I did last season! Instead, they’re shopping at McEwan foods at the Shoppes at Don Mills (you know they’re posh, because of the extra -pes on shoppes). I actually love it here, they have some crazy delicious little dips and sandwiches and things, but it’s a little beyond my budget.

Anyway, chefs get back to the TCC kitchens and get to work. Mark comes in to get the down low, and it looks like he’s making a conscious effort to smile more this season.

Back at the condo, we learn that Jonathan prints his own bandanas! This is on par with watching Dale fold his socks last season.

The next day the cheftestants arrive at the construction site, unpack their coolers and start cooking. Judges are on the scene, and we have Mark, Shereen, Mike Holmes and the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Toronto. The Yellow team is up first, and they’ve made gazpacho, potato salad, grilled salmon, barbecue pork loin (in a store-bought tortilla – shocker) and a dark chocolate and pecan brownie for dessert. The Green Team has another potato salad, vegetarian chili (why would you want to eat this on a hot summer day?), fish taco (homemade tortilla!), chipotle barbecue chicken with apple slaw, and banana mousse with rolled oat crumble. Lastly the Red Team has braised pork ribs, corn with bacon butter, penne bolognese (again, for a barbecue?), mixed grain salad and iced tea with mint and edible flowers. They did not make dessert!

 Back in the supply closet, Lisa summons the Green Team. They are the best!

Mike loved Gabriell’s banana mousse. Carl’s potato salad was delicious, and he told us the secret is pickle juice. Everyone loved the apple slaw with Elizabeth’s chicken.  David’s fish tacos were a hit, and the judges loved that Jonathan helped him out with the homemade tortillas.  Jonathan’s chili was rich and intense. Overall, a cohesive meal, but one chef had the most outstanding dish.  

The winner: Elizabeth!

She calls in the Yellow Team. They are the worst. Trevor’s gazpacho was too smooth, didn’t have enough texture, and there was no love put into it. Joel’s salmon wasn’t appropriate for a barbecue, and the judges questioned his choice of this protein for a construction site. Kunal’s pork taco was bland, and the judges want to know why he didn’t make his own tortillas. Xavier’s brownie was too cakey and boring. Only Ryan gets a positive review for his potato salad. Overall, Mark says their plate was disjointed and lacked a theme and central focus.  Also be careful what you name your dishes, because it sets the eater’s expectations (i.e. if Xavier had said he prepared chocolate cake, instead of a brownie, he would have been okay).

Going home: Kunal 🙁

Next week: Thea’s back, and the cheftestants throw a baby shower for her and Shereen.

I liked this episode you guys! Anytime there’s barbecue involved I get excited. Hopefully we can get the recipe for Elizabeth’s chipotle barbecue sauce. I was sad to see Kunal go home, but we can’t forget one of our lessons from Season 1, which is that if one of the main components of your dish is going to be store-bought, you better have a good excuse for not making it yourself and be able to defend your decision. What did you think about this episode? Is anyone starting to stand out for you yet? And how do you like your brownies: cakey or fudgey? (The only acceptable answer is FUDGEY!)

Previous Episodes:

Episode 1