Look you guys, I’m no Veronica Mars.  But if two IP address traces, a promise from both my brothers that this is not prank, and a cross-reference to Twitter, are all correct, Richard BLAIS is my new best friend (check the comments)! If you don’t know about the BLAIS, he’s the super intense, vertical-haired winner of Top Chef All-Stars. And here he is in the TCC Kitchen! Lisa definitely does not say BLAIS with enough impact. And I just got choked up watching the clip of him winning Top Chef All-Stars! This episode is going to be amazing!

Spoke too soon. The Quickfire Challenge is mystery cans: cheftestants have to pick three and they must be used. Richard BLAIS says to embrace this challenge and make something amazing with humble ingredients.

Everything looks disgusting (pickled celery?), and the worst were David, Jonathan, and Carl. The best were Ryan, Curtis and Trevor. The winner is: Ryan! He gets immunity and he’s stoked to win his first challenge.

The Elimination Challenge this week is to take traditional main courses and deconstruct them to make a brand new dish. The BLAIS says they need to take the essence of the original dish, and play with the texture and temperature to make something totally new.  Lisa unveils the Wheel of Deconstruction, and the chefs spin to select their assignments:

Ryan – Eggs Florentine

Curtis – Tuna Casserole

Trevor – Spaghetti & Meatballs

Xavier – Quiche Lorraine

Jimmy – Chicken Pot Pie

Trista – Meatloaf

David – Chicken Noodle Soup

Jonathan – Strawberry Cheesecake

Carl – Chili

Someone better use some liquid nitrogen up in here!!! haha.

After the regular kitchen hijinks, here we go in front of the judges (which include a Scottish-Canadian country singer I’ve never heard of. Sorry friend, you’re overshadowed by the most amazing hair to have graced Food Network).

Jimmy: Chicken Pot Pie deconstructed to – confit chicken with biscuit, mushroom froth, wasabi pea ice cream

The BLAIS says: aesthetic got in the way of flavour

Ryan: Eggs Florentine deconstructed to – fried duck egg yolk, spinach sponge cake, raw spinach dressing

The BLAIS says: the sponge didn’t need to be there, but give him credit for not playing it safe because he had immunity

Jonathan: Strawberry Cheesecake deconstructed to – cream cheese ice cream with goat cheese, reconstructed graham cracker, sliced strawberries

The BLAIS says: no cheesecake connection, lot of different textures, he overpromised and under delivered

Carl: Chili deconstructed to – pork chili terrine, pickeled jalapenos, three bean salad, cheese bread

The BLAIS says: wanted to not like it, but he ate it up

David: Chicken Noodle Soup deconstructed to – vegetable and confit chicken terrine, heavily reduced chicken stock, pearl cracker, cracker powder

The BLAIS says: it smells like chicken noodle soup, everyone is impressed

Trista: Meatloaf deconstructed to – meatloaf tartar, garlic chips,

The BLAIS says: she played it safe

Curtis: Tuna Casserole deconstructed to – tuna cannelloni and hot tuna salad and milk crouton

The BLAIS says: ***silence***

Xavier: Quiche Lorraine deconstructed to – shortbread and bacon cylinders with scrambled egg mousse

The BLAIS says: he smells quiche lorraine, everyone else loves it

Trevor: Spaghetti & Meatballs deconstructed to – duck meatball stuffed with tomato sauce, pamesan foam,

The BLAIS says: shows maturity, knowing when to stop is important, loves it

In the supply closet, Lisa calls in David, Xavier and Trevor. They are the best! Trevor’s dish had wicked flavour, the portion size was great, and everyone loved how the meatball exploded on the plate. David’s terrine was very clever, so fresh, and like a chicken noodle soup salad. Xavier’s plate was beautiful, the cylinders were amazing and he retained the essence of the original dish.

The winner: Xavier!

The worst are called in and they are:

Jonathan – basic flavours not there, it was hard to eat, where was the cheese?

Curtis – felt like eating two different dishes, no flavour.

Jimmy – essence of chicken pot pie was missing, the chicken was dry and the veggies were hard. 

Going home: Curtis

Next week: Chef skills competition and a lot of blood.

Okay, thank you guys for chiming in on the comments last week! It’s nice to know a few people are still watching the show! What did you think of this week’s challenge? Were you surprised no one used liquid nitrogen? Did you laugh when Jimmy showed up to the challenge with his hair done like Richard BLAIS? And most importantly, did you know the secret to achieving that vertical is equal parts duck fat and liquid nitrogen? ha!