Top Chef Season 5 Mid-Term Assessment

Ariane – The worst to first chef. Ariane's a toughie, it goes without saying that she got off to a bad start and the question is can she slay the demons that plagued her early in the competition and braise her way to the final four. Something I noticed recently, on the Melting Pot challenge Ariane, who did an Middle Eastern dish, got called out on her limited world view or something like that, and in the next Quickfire, she did another Middle Eastern dish, presumably to redeem herself, unfortunately she got panned for it, but still good for her, especially since she can be perceives as risk averse.

My take on Ariane is that she is a talented chef, as evidenced by her wins on Top Chef and the favorable reviews of her restaurant, CulinAriane, but she needs a lot of validation. At first her fellow chefs were willing to pat the self-proclaimed “old lady” on the head and buck her up. Now that she is not just a contender, but a front runner, I wonder if the cheerleading will continue.

Ariane's food that I want to try: the cream cheese and bacon stuffed French toast (minus the bacon, I like to keep my sweet and savory separated, thank you very much) and the JaRadIane lamb.

Carla – Reality TV Gold! Season 5's Carla reminds me of Forrest Gump, any time something is going on Carla is there, which is great, because she gives great color commentary. My selfish wish is that Carla makes it to the Final 5, because I am afraid that when she goes all of the oxygen is going to leave the Top Chef Kitchen.

Carla's food that I want to try: the rustic apple pie and spicy broth and avocado salsa and the tortilla soup

Eugene – My early favorite despite the massive amount of body ink. Several of the current batch of chefs seem to have studied previous seasons of Top Chef and have formed a mental playbook that they are using to play the game: Be Creative, Create Interesting Dishes, Defend Your Dish and Demonstrate Leadership; and that is all fine, good and dandy, but somehow Execution, Sound Judgment and Common Sense (which is always implied) weren't included in the playbooks. To me Eugene is probably the worst offender, which is kinda sad, because I think the is better than what we have seen thus far. He is a darkhorse for the final four, and even that may be more wishful thinking, if he ends up leaving sooner, I hope that he leaves on a positive note and not that storm cloud that he has been under for the past couple of challenges.

Eugene's food that I want to try: the basmati macadamia nut tatziki and masala rubbed lamb, the Buffalo meatloaf roulade with smoked gouda fondue and his spicy pork stew with cilantro sour cream (without the cornstarch flavoring).

Fabio – First off, the Team Euro trash talking is annoying. Also, not too many are as skilled as Fabio at hilariously delivering expressing their sore loser sentiments. Of course, he is overplaying the Chef Boyardee accent, but like Carla, he gives great color commentary. I am thinking that one of my goals for 2009 should be to meet Fabio's grandmother and gather tips on cooking Italian and raising an evil six year old. Other than the pumpkin tiramisu, Fabio hasn't really wowed me with any of his dishes. I think he is a solid chef and hasn't made any major missteps, I am mildly annoyed that in the wedding challenge Team Blue did not make a dessert, especially since they were the last to serve, who cares if there are only one or two truly blue foods.

Fabio's food that I want to try: the pumpkin tiramisu and the "gray" mushroom polenta and duck breast.

Hosea – Truth be told Hosea has not figured prominently on my radar screen as a chef or as one-half of the tepid pairing with Leah (or is it Melissa??). However, he has some skills as illustrated by his winning the Twelve Days of Christmas and Name that Ingredient challenges, it would have been so awesome if Kathy Lee Epstein Johnson Gifford showed up to sing each ingredient, and oh yeah, I'm mildly embarrassed that I was able to write all of Kathy Lee's surnames from memory. Hosea is not the most inventive chef, but he is worth keeping an eye on.

Hosea's food that I want to try: the crispy Ahi roll with spicy ginger dipping sauce and the smoked pork loin, chipotle mashed potatoes, braised cabbage, apple jus.

Jamie - My current co-favorite despite the massive amount of body ink. Jamie swings for the fences which has landed her on both the top and the bottom of the quickfire and elimination challenges. She openly bemoans not winning a quickfire or elimination challenge and while some may find that unseemly, it's fine by me. Even the most secure people desire recognition and validation and her bellyaching, IMHO shows more insecurity and lack of reality show savvy, than character or personality shortcomings.

Jamie's food that I want to try: the chick pea soup, the baby “BLT” breakfast sandwich and the JaRadIane lamb.

Jeff – What a disappointment! He leads me on with this shallow and vain proclamation about requiring his staff to notify him when a hair is out of place, and then he does the old bait and switcheroo and turns out to be a decent and (seemingly) humble guy, grrrr! A time or two he has done the petulant and entitled white boy thing (think of the typical Tom Cruise character between 1981 and 1996) which I find strangely attractive, so he hasn't been a total bust. He and Jamie are my current favorites.

Um, let's see the food. As a chef, Jeff offers sophisticated fare and is to be commended for not dumbing down his food. We saw his thought process in conceptualizing his Twelve Days of Christmas Dish and that is a good thing and the editors should do more of that. He is a risk taker and as such has landed in both the bottom and the top groups. I think that he shares Eugene's tendency to show creativity and effort, for the sake of creativity and effort, the the two too much amuse bouche being a good example, but in Jeff's case he has the skills to back it up. Truth be told, I don't have a true hankering for any of Jeff''s food, lump me in with those unsophisticated palettes that he referred to in the Today Show episode. I am more impressed with his go big or go home attitude and the unique ingredients / dishes, I have never heard of haloumy and kassier cheese, malfouf rolls, muhamara sauce and using sumac as a spice (I wonder if I should have a calamine lotion chaser nearby).

Jeff's food that I want to try: the sumac spiced malfouf roll with muhamara sauce (to expand my horizons) and a lighter and less verjused version of the potato risotto with crispy bacon and brussel sprouts.

Leah – Leah has been a decent performer, winning a couple of quickfires. She has a funky attitude at times and is carrying on an uninteresting affair with Hosea, and since she and Hosea have significant others back home, they both will have some splainin' to do.

Leah's food that I want to try: the fried quail egg with spicy tomato and the braised Guinea hen (on a lighter less thick bread).

Melissa – One thing that I noticed is that this season's hirsute cheftestants are pretty good with pulling their hair back or wearing a scarf or other head covering (whatever happened to hair nets?) when cooking, Melissa is the notable exception. I keep expecting someone to find a peroxide hairstrand in their food. Her clueless defense of her dishes, makes her a member of the Top Chef Playbook Club (see the Eugene commentary).

Melissa's food that I want to try: the habanero blackened shrimp (I like spicy food, with a milder pepper) and possibly the Italian wedding soup (the recipe looks better than the picture).

Radhika – Radhika is the stealth chef. I think she has made the most interesting but accessible dishes. Radhika memorably said she doesn't want to be pigeon holed as an Indian chef , and thus far has done a few Indian or Indian-inspired dishes, but has produced just as many if not more non-Indian dishes. I am not 100% sure, but I don't thing that the restaurant she works in is an Indian restaurant. I don't think that Radhika should run away from doing Indian and she hasn't thus far, but as the field narrows that is when the mind games start among the cheftestants (perhaps Stefan has gotten a jumpstart on this sparking the Stefan is Satan comment) and I hope that Radhika can tune that out and listen to her own voice.

Rhadika / Radhika's food that I want to try: the curried white bean soup, the vegan cornbread stuffing (just to see what all the fuss is a bout), the JaRadIane lamb and the Belgian meatballs with chive mashed potatoes.

Stefan - OK, half of cheftestants interviewed called Stefan arrogant with one saying that she'd rather be teammates with Satan than Stefan. So I guess this means Stefan is... arrogant. And of course, it takes a special kind of arrogance to try to convert a lesbian, although he seems to have been momentarily distracted by Natasha Richardson's umm, voice. I really haven't found Stefan's dishes to be all that interesting, his strength seems to lie in presentation and execution.

Stefan's food that I want to try: the amuse bouche eggs and Celtic goulash with potato .

Top Chef, Episode 5.8 - The Twelve Days of Christmas Summary

The episode starts with Stefan pondering which judge left his / her shoe up his butt from the last challenge. Now why didn't that make the final edit? Hosea calls home to inquire about his ailing father which usually signals that he will be packing his knives before the hour is up.

Martha, Martha, Martha!!!
Padma meets the chefs in the Top Chef Kitchen decked with boughs of holly and other Hanukah / Christmas / Kwanzaa whatnot. She introduces Quickfire guest judge, lifestyle and culinary icon, Martha Stewart. Shock and awe ensues with cuts to talking heads making worshipful comments about La Martha. The QF challenge is to make a one pot dish in 45 minutes. Several cheftestants use a single pot to make multiple components, which kinda defeats the purpose in my book. The top three are Ariane, Hosea and of course, Jamie. The winner is not Jamie (Ariane). The bottom three are Jeff (too starchy), Eugene (too [corn]starchy) and Fabio whose grandmother would be ashamed of Martha for placing her formerly evil grandson in the bottom for serving gray polenta.

Cheftestant	Quick Fire Dish
Stefan	Veal Goulash with Potato, Mushroom
Jeff	Potato Risotto with Crispy Pork, Brussel Sprouts
Hosea	Paella with Fish, Chicken, Shrimp
Fabio	Roasted Mushroom Polenta
Melissa	Pork Tenderloin with Braised Cabbage, Orange, Bacon, Fennel
Jamie	Jamie: Potato and Kale Stew with Scallops
Ariane	Cauliflower Puree and Herb Rubbed Filet
Eugene	Spicy Korean Stew with Pork, Mushrooms, Cilantro Sour Cream
Leah
Carla	Brined Turkey Breast with Apple and Dried Cherry
Radikah	Meatballs with Mashed Potato

The Eleven Days of Christmas
The elimination challenge is to create a dish inspired by one of the twelve days of Christmas (minus one) as determined by a knife draw. I guess when you celebrate Christmas in August, you lose a day. The food will be served at a benefit for AmFar, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Two hundred and fifty guests and the chefs are given three hours to prep and an hour on location. One word to describe this challenge is absurd! Mercifully, Padma calls in help in the form of local sous chefs, culinary students, former cheftestants, the National Guard... the Harlem Gospel Choir!?!?!?. This seemed rather incongruous to me, to put it mildly, and I searched in vain for a Swanson, Uncle Ben's, Butterball, Toyota, or Glad logo woven into the kente cloth.

During the commercial break we are treated to the chefs most chefs reciting their lines from their assigned Christmas day. Guys would it have killed you to sing the line, thumbs up to chanteuses Ariane and Radhika.

We are the World in the Top Chef Kitchen

It pretty much goes downhill from there. After a trip to Whole Foods, which doesn't carry frog legs in case you were wondering, the chefs commence work in the Top Chef kitchen. The chefs have three hours to prep and Stefan notes that it takes a considerable amount of time just to unpack and unwrap the various foodstuffs. Jeff notices that quite a few of the chefs are making relatively simple and interesting dishes. At the end of prep time the cheftestants pack the GE Something Something refrigerators and go home.

The next day the chefs arrive back and according to the narration they discover that one of the refrigerators were left open and the contents are spoiled. The chefs most affected were Hosea, Melissa and Radikah, and in the true spirit of Christmas, the other cheftestants rally to help their fellowmen, fellowwomen, fellowpeople prepare new dish. Interestingly, there happened to be this great big unfrozen slab of pork lying around, hmmm a Christmas miracle perhaps?

Glor-OR-or-OR-or-ORRR-or-OR-or-OR-orrr-OR-or-OR-or-ORRR-iiia,
in excelsis Deo!

Service – Primary Colors
The chefs pack up and go to The Prince George Ballroom. Question, don't any of these venues have fully functioning kitchens? Is there any reason that the food can't be prepared on-site other than to do product placement for the companies who furnish the Top Chef kitchen? Has it occurred to anyone that the quality of the food is affected by all of the stops and starts that define the very nature of catering? [/rant over]

Service starts and the judges enter to suspenseful music. The reception is hosted by Tony Award winning actress, AIDS activists, author, renown cook and hostess, granddaughter of Sir Michael Redgrave , daughter of Tony Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave, niece of Lynn Redgrave, sister of Joely Richardson and last but not least, wife of Liam Neeson, drum roll please Natasha Richardson, who is also serving as a judge. Setting aside her accomplishments and pedigree, Miss Richardson looked hawt in her red dress; she was babelicious, boobilicious and bootylicious! Rumor has it that Stefan offered to drink her bath water. The other guest judge is Miami based and James Beard Award winner Michelle Bernstein. Anybody wanna guess what color Tom is wearing. Other luminaries at the reception were shoe impresario Kenneth Cole, AmFar Founder Dr. Matilda Krim, model Maggie Rizer, Cheyenne Jackson, who I never heard of, and the guest who liked Stefan's chicken pot pie (and who doesn't) looked familiar, I think she did a guest stint on one of the Law and Orders, which doesn't really narrow things down any, perhaps I will pay a visit to ImdB.

Who Served What

Theme	Cheftestant	Elimination Challenge Dish
12 Drummers Drumming	Stefan	Creamy Chicken Pot Pie with English Peas, White Asparagus
11 Lords a Leaping	Jeff	Roasted Haloumy and Kassier Cheeses with Roasted Beets, Pears and Mint, and Hazelnut Donka Spice
10 Pipers Piping	Hosea	Smoked Pork Loin with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Braised Cabbage and Apple Jus
9 Ladies Dancing	Fabio	Corn and Roasted Pepper Crab Cake with Chipotle Lime
8 Maids a Milking	Melissa	Gorgonzola and NY Strip on Crostini, Cranberry Vinaigrette
7 Swans a Swimming	Jamie	Sea Scallop and Vichyssoise
6 Geese a Layin'	Ariane	Deviled Eggs 6 Ways
5 Golden Rings	Eugene	Poisson Cru With Pineapple Rings and Gold Yukon Potato Chips
4 Calling Birds	Chef Nobody	Skip this Day of Christmas if the average temperature for the month is above 75 degrees.
Three French Hems	Leah	Braised Guinea Hen with Butternut Squash Puree Over Puff Pastry
Two Turtle Doves	Carla	Braised Chicken With Mushrooms
A Partridge in a Pear Tree	Radikah	Braised Duck Leg on Toasted Brioche with Pear Chutney, Toasted Pistachios

Each chef had to come up with a story that explained how their dish tied into the theme. Carla deconstructs the turtle dove into a turtle and dove (poultry). Stefan achieves drummers drumming through how his dish presentation. Eugene tells a sweet tale that tied in the golden rings to a story told to him by grandmother. Jeff selects two cheeses that nobody has ever heard of (yeah that's right I speak for the entire viewing audience) to show leaping through the Greek Islands. Fabio tells this absurd story about dancing crabs, which I later find out is true. In the previous challenge, I learned that yellow and green combine to make blue in the light spectrum, which as someone schooled by the Zip-Loc Bag folks that yellow and blue make green, I dismissed the comment as a bunch of hooey that the Glad Family of Products must have had a hand in. So if Fabio, who doesn't seem to be in contention for a Rhodes Scholarship, knows these things, you gotta give it up to the Italian educational system. Although I do thing the Chef Boyardee act is more schtick than anything. Hosea has the most tenuous tie-in where he links 10 Pipers Piping to pipe smoking to explain his smoked pork offering, I betcha the diners and the judges aren't going buy such drivel.

Ginger Jeff and Maryanne Hosea engage in a fierce fight to see who can score with the most babes (gender non-specific) score the most red ribbons. Gilligan Leah threatens physical violence against a woman who got too chummy with Maryanne Hosea.

The guest and chefs seemed to be play along with the Christmas in July theme. I don't have a problem with Top Chef doing off season theme challenges. My only suggestion is that if they do this is to put together a table of ingredients that are available, or used more. during that season, for example fresh cranberries, turkey and goose (emphasis on fresh), similar to what is done in the finale episode. And since missing a product placement opportunity is verboten, they can still trot over to Whole Foods for additional foodstuff.

Judges Table with Special Guest Star Michelle Burn-stein
While still at the Prince George Ballroom the judges share that there were disappointments, Tom acknowledges that usually there are usually more cooks doing involved by a factor of 3. I think overall the results would have had much better if the chefs were giving more time, and did not change venues, although changing venues has become part of the Top Caterer Chef routine.

Back at Top Chef headquarters, Padma summons Hosea, Jeff, Radhika and Stefan. Hosea wins the challenge after springing back from tragedy [/Padma] and all he got was a lousy cookbook, and on top of that all of the cheftestants got the lousy cookbook for helping out during the tragedy. OK, I really hope that another prize was planned and not awarded, I mean no disrespect to Michelle Bernstein, but come on!

Speaking of La Bernstein, if anyone thought she was on fire at the reception, girlfriend took no prisoners when she was faced off with the offending chefs, namely Eugene, Jamie and Melissa. Given the botched nature of the challenge, it is tempting to discount her criticisms, but I think the shortcomings she highlighted would have likely occurred under better circumstances. Bernstein commented that Jeff's dish would have been better with no cheese (or only one cheese), but recognized that the two cheeses were there to meet the terms of the challenge. After dismissing the Bottom 3, the judges continue their confab, with the discussion dominated by guest judges. Not to be outdone, Tom chimes in about the poor performance and is perplexed about why his progeny are choking. I have noticed that when an alpha chef /culinarian like Bernstein visits, which is pretty often on Top Chef, Papa Bear Tom expects his Top Chef wannabes to perform like... well, top chefs. I don't have a problem with this per se, but hopefully he is discussing the issue with the behind the scene folks, who also play a hand in some of the mishaps. I, for one, don't have a problem with theme based challenges and certain twists, but sometimes the chefs have to jump through way too many hoops.

Tom decides to use the most poorly conceived challenge that experienced an equipment malfunction which resulted in the most noble act ever seen on Top Chef and perhaps in all of competitive reality TV-dom to take the cheftestants to task over their mediocrity. On the other hand, it was probably for the best that he concluded the challenge with the smackdown as a means of taking a big bath on this one and starting anew. I am also convinced that there was no way that he was going to pass up the opportunity to give immune Ariane a piece of his mind over serving deviled eggs, a staple of church picnic and therefore not refined enough for a New York City soirée, and yet somehow chicken pot pie, which Stefan made the same way, save for his presentation gimmick, that it has been made for the past 3000 years, Hung (or his monkey) telepathically informed me of this, placed in the top group. I completely agree with the sentiment that Tom expressed, play to win and cook the food that won the chef a place on the show, however Top Chef has not walked the talk and continuously recognized and rewarded chefs for playing it safe, and ironically, to put it mildly, on the same show where he upbraids the chefs doing just that. So in the spirit of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and unselfishness, no one gets eliminated.

Glor- OR-or-OR-or-ORRRR-or-OR-or-OR-orrrr-OR-or-OR-or-ORRRR-iiia, in excelsis Deo!

Epilogue
Lee Anne Wong stated in in her blog that the food spoilage tragedy was due to the refrigerator that stored the dishes-in-progress broke down (most likely due to having to cool down the many hot items that were piled into the non-industrial appliance). So this explains how a fresh, unbutchered pork loin that will feed approximately 300 people happened to be readily available. Also, the no elimination decision was cooked up (rightly so) at this point.

A Hero is More than a Sandwich?
At this time, I will recognize the brave men and women who made Top Chef 5.6 worth broadcasting 250 times over the next few weeks.

• The Cheftestants for helping out their fellow competitors in their time of need and looking beyond the competition to make sure that the guest who attended the AmFar benefit, got their Eleven Twelve Days of Christmas experience. They would have achieved superhero status if they pitched in to make sure that the fourth day of Christmas was covered.

• Lee Anne for setting the record straight in her blog about the food spoilage.

• Natasha Richardson for working those red dresses.

• Radikah and Hosea for freely admitting that they received help with their successful dishes.

• Tom for his deadpan smackdown of Leah in the stew room.

• Ariane and Radhika for actually singing their lines on the twelve days of Christmas.

• Fabio's revelation that at six years old, he was an evil.

Top Chef 5-1: Melting Pot, 11-12-2008

The Season 5 cheftestants arrive in New York City. A few of the cheftestants have never been to the big city and are having a Beverly Hillbillies moment. Like me, Richard wonders what Padma will be wearing, but he tries to make it sound as if it's really the "queens back home" who are really into Padma's sartorial presentation. Later, as expected, Richard shares his lust for Tom "Papa Bear" Colicchio and especially his gorgeous blue peepers. The cheftestants ferry over to Governor's Island and are are greeted by Padma and Tom when they disembark from the ferry.

Quickfire: The cheftestants will compete in three rounds, the twist: the loser of the Quickfire will be eliminated.

• Round 1 -Peel 15 apples with a knife. The first 9 who peel the apples to Tom's satisfaction are safe. Stefan finishes first and earns immunity.

• Round 2 - Brunoise (finely chop) two cups of apples. The first 4 are safe.

• Round 3 - The remaining 4 must cook an apple dish to be judged by Tom.

The bottom two are Patrick and Lauren, friends from culinary school. Lauren is eliminated.

Elimination Challenge: Create a dish based on the area of New York selected from the knife draw. Each ethnic dish will be served head to head to the judges. Legendary Chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten of the eponymous Jean-Georges in New York City served as guest judge.

Cuisine	Cheftestants
Middle Eastern (Long Island City)	Ariane3 and Stefan1, 2
Greek	Jamie and Richard
Jamaican	Jill and Radhika
Latin (Ozone Park)	Fabio and Jeffrey
Russian (Brighton Beach)	Hosea and Carla
Italian (Little Italy)	Leah2 and Melissa
Chinese (Chinatown)	Daniel and Patrick3,4
Indian	Alex and Eugene2
Bold Type denotes winner of the head to head competition. 1Winner, 2Top 3, 3 Bottom 3, 4 Eliminated.

Stefan beats out Leah and Eugene for the win. Tom brings up that three of the past four winners won the first elimination challenge. Ariane lives to see another day in the Top Chef kitchen and Patrick and his knives are sent packing. Two CIAers sent packing on Day One, I doubt if they are happy in those hallowed halls.

Tom declares that the cheftestants are off to a good start and if this represents what they are capable of then this a strong group of competitors. We shall see,,, in the previews we see some indications that the judges will partake of some not so good chow.

Memorable Cheftestants: Richard gave good narration; Ariane was whiny; Eugene wants to prove that he can run with the big dogs . He is my favorite thus far, but I am very fickle with my affections. I will be disappointed if Jeff doesn't live up to his "I'm so vain" proclamation.

Best Looking Judge: Tom and his Baby Blues win.

Top Chef 5 - Who's Who

Bios and Photos from bravotv.com

Alex
age: 33
hometown: New York City
resides in: Los Angeles
Elimination Challenge Wins:
Status: Eliminated Episode 4

Position: Executive chef, Restaurant 15 Culinary Education: The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) – New York, NY
Favorite Simple Recipes: For fall: Duck confit – duck breast, onions, carrots, celery, cloves, cinnamon, duck fat, fresh herbs.
For spring: Red snapper with guava beurre blanc, guavaberry and sweet plantain hash.

Bio: Alex currently serves as Executive Chef /Partner at a small boutique restaurant in Los Angeles, Calif., Restaurant 15. His culinary career is based primarily in small individually owned restaurants, which is fitting since he has a personal relationship with food and finds his creativity is best expressed in those intimate circumstances. Born in Madrid, raised in the Dominican Republic and then New York City, he has a very distinct cultural background that fuels his passion for cooking. Classically trained in French and Spanish cuisine, he often plays with Caribbean flair to add depth to his food. When not training for marathons, he enjoys making one of his favorite dishes, Paella.
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Ariane

age 41
hometown Verona, NJ
resides in Verona, NJ
Elimination Challenge Wins: 1/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Chef/owner of CulinAriane in Montclair, NJ Culinary
Education: AOS, Culinary Institute of America
Favorite Simple Recipes: Roasted asparagus, artichokes, fava beans and morels on herb goat cheese grilled focaccia

Bio:Ariane is the chef/owner of CulinAriane, a four-star restaurant located in Montclair, N.J. She was inspired to cook at a young age by her grandmothers. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, she worked at some of the best restaurants in the country before she and her husband, Michael, opened CulinAriane. While much of her time is spent at her restaurant, she loves spending time with her daughters, especially at the beach. She also enjoys entertaining for family and friends. Her strong belief is that anything can be fixed and to keep smiling.

Carla
age 44
hometown Nashville, TN
resides in Washington, DC

Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0

Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Owner/Chef, Alchemy Caterers
Culinary Education: C.C.T. L’Academie de Cuisine
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Small shaped pasta with hand-mashed salted heirloom tomatoes, garlic, red wine vinegar, chilies and a great extra virgin olive oil. For spring: Pea salad with radishes and feta cheese.

Bio:Carla is the chef and owner of Alchemy Caterers in Washington, D.C. Her food balances the heart and soul of the South and the refinement of her classic French training. She enjoys creating memorable comfort dishes with fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. Carla approaches each event as an opportunity to make a connection with the client and to change the way they experience food. She always has good European butter, Couverture chocolate, bacon, heavy cream, olive oil - pomace and extra virgin - on hand and pies are one of her favorite things to make.
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Danny
age 26
hometown New Hyde Park, NY
resides in
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Chef De Cuisine, Babylon Carriage House
Culinary Education: C.I.A. Hyde Park
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Fresh calamari salad with pepper, red onions, fresh garlic, lemon, lime, pepper, salt to my liking

Bio:Danny currently serves as the Chef de Cuisine at the Babylon Carriage House, one of the most popular restaurants in Long Island, NY. He is best known for his Italian/Asian Fusion style of cooking. Danny was influenced by his grandmothers at a young age to cook from the heart and keep family in mind. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he worked for several restaurants including East By Northeast, Harvest on Fort Pond, and Pacific East where he gained invaluable knowledge that made him an asset in any kitchen. His motto is: "No Guts, No Glory, No Gold!"
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Fabio
age 30
hometown Florence, Italy
resides in Moorpark, CA
Elimination Challenge Wins: 1/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Owner, Cafe Firenze Italian Restaurant Martini Bar Culinary Education: I.P.S.S.A.R. Aurelio Saffi, Hotel and Restaurant Management School in Florence, Italy Favorite
Simple Recipes: For summer: Seared black sea bass, heirloom tomato and purple basil with extra virgin olive oil.

Bio:Fabio is the Owner and Executive Chef of Café Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Bar, one of the most recognized restaurants in Ventura County. Born and raised in Florence, Italy, he has traveled across Europe and is trained in classic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. He incorporates Italian, French and Spanish influences in his dishes and believes that cooking is a craft. He is currently working on opening the Firenze4Kids Foundation, which will emphasize the promotion of health and wellness for kids through good nutrition and will also launch kidshealthcafe.com, the largest informative resource library available online, designed to enhance a healthy and safe lifestyle for children. Additionally, Fabio also works as William Shatner's private chef.
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Gene
age 33
hometown Whitmore Village, Hawaii
resides in Las Vegas
Elimination ChallengeWins: 0/0

Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Executive Chef, Executive Sushi Chef & Chef Consultant Culinary
Education: Self-taught
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Ahi tuna, green onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, bonito and hot peanut oil.
For spring: Mesclun lettuce, chopped romaine, roasted macadamia nuts, boursin cheese, strawberries and mango yuzu vinaigrette.

Bio:Gene is currently developing menus for major corporations and is the soon to be Executive Chef of a new concept for a major hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Born and raised in Hawaii, he relocated to Las Vegas and began his career as a dishwasher. Through hard work and dedication over the years, he has experienced all facets of life in the professional kitchen. He has gained wisdom and experience in management positions at various restaurants and has been blessed to work for and with some of the most extraordinary chefs in the world. His cooking philosophy has always been "think outside the box" and his love for pacific fusion compliments his cooking style. He is trained in basic French and Italian with an emphasis on Pacific Rim, Hawaiian fusion, and the art of sushi.
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Hosea
age 34
hometown Taos, NM
resides in Boulder, CO
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Executive Chef, Jax Fish House
Culinary Education: Self-taught
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Sea scallops with morels, asparagus, potato puree and Madeira cream sauce.

Bio:Hosea has been the Executive Chef at Jax Fish House in Boulder for the past four and a half years. During his tenure at Jax, he has won numerous awards including Best Chef at the Denver International Wine Festival (2006, 2007) and is the seven-time, undefeated winner of the Flatiron Chef Competition. While pursuing his BS in Engineering Physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Hosea worked at a variety of restaurants from diners to fine dining establishments. It was only after he graduated in 1997 that he realized he wanted to change course and become a professional chef. In 1998 he began working for Wolfgang Puck and got his first job as head chef just three years later. When it comes to food, quality ingredients, integrity and focus are paramount to Hosea.
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Jamie
age 30
hometown New York City
resides in San Francisco
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Executive Chef, Absinthe Brasserie and Bar
Culinary Education: A.O.S. Culinary Arts, C.I.A.
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Asparagus salad with charred onion vinaigrette, Burrata cheese, wild arugula and speck.

Bio:Jamie works as the Executive Chef at Absinthe, one of the busiest restaurants in San Francisco. Born in New York City and trained in classic French technique, she believes in cooking from within. Jamie loves to work with local and seasonal ingredients and focuses most of her menu around organic foods. She enjoys participating in local charitable events and using her talent to support important causes. Her favorite thing to eat is Indian food and she is obsessed with onions.
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Jeff
age 30
hometown Niceville, FL
resides in Miami
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Chef de Cuisine, the DiLido Beach Club
Culinary Education: Johnson & Wales University
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Melon sorbet salad

Bio:Jeff got his culinary start at age 15 by cleaning local fish while working on Florida fishing boats and a year later began peeling shrimp, cleaning squid and cutting fish for The Marina Café. Jeff embarked on his professional career as a Sous Chef at Atlanticville Restaurant and Café outside of Charleston, South Carolina while attending school at Johnson & Wales University. He went on to hone his culinary skills as a Sous Chef in San Francisco at Azie, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant, and later served as a Sous Chef at the Five Star Orient Express resort in Virginia where he expanded on his knowledge of French and American cuisines. Returning to his native Florida, Jeff worked directly under Chef Norman Van Aken and then joined The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach culinary team. He currently serves as Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club. His recent sabbaticals include traveling to North Africa, Turkey, Italy, and the Greek Isles to discover new techniques which he uses daily at home with Florida ingredients.
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Jill
age 28
hometown Latrobe, PA
resides in Baltimore
Elimination Challenge
Wins: 0/0 Quickfire
Wins: 0/0
status: Eliminated, Episode 2

Position: Executive Chef, Red Maple
Culinary Education: Baltimore International College
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Grilled shrimp with pea tendrils and roasted baby beets

Bio:Born in Latrobe, Pa., Jill's culinary interests were sparked at an early age when she began helping on her uncle's farm, picking berries and baking cookies to sell at the local farmer's market. She didn't plan on becoming a chef, but counts her decision to attend culinary school as one of her best moves. After moving to Baltimore, Jill studied under the celebrated chef and restaurateur Spike Gjerde. She loves to create imaginative sushi rolls and unique desserts and the five ingredients she always keeps on hand are semi-sweet chocolate, sushi rice, micro-herbs, Banyuls vinegar and champagne. Her goal is to one day own a small resort that serves amazing food and features rides in her hot air balloon.
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Lauren
age 24
hometown Cincinnati
resides in Stationed at Fort Stewart, in Georgia
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Eliminated, episode 1

Position: Chef Tournant, Jag’s Steak and Seafood Culinary
Education: B.P.S. Culinary Arts Management, C.I.A.
Favorite Simple Recipes: Spring pea mousse in phyllo cups with creme fraiche and caviar

Bio:Lauren works as the Tournant at Jag's Steak and Seafood, the most luxurious and contemporary steakhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sparked by an Easy Bake Oven as a little girl, Lauren's passion for pastry and the culinary arts bloomed throughout her childhood and into her current career. While attending the prestigious CIA in Hyde Park, New York, Lauren met her husband, a USMA cadet. Together they have traveled the country, influencing Lauren's eclectic and free-form culinary style. If she were a food, she says she would be a sweet and sassy box of chocolates because "you never know what you're going to get, but its always going to be good!"
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Leah
age 27
hometown Scarsdale, NY
resides in New York City
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 2/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Sous Chef, Centro Vinoteca Culinary
Education: A.O.S./ B.A., C.I.A.
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms and panzanella salad

Bio:Leah currently works as a Sous Chef at Centro Vinoteca in New York City. Apart from the year and a half that she worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy, she has spent her entire life in New York and comes from a Filipino, Russian-Romanian Jewish background. Her favorite chef is Marco Pierre White and she counts salt, olive oil, butter, garlic and any pork product as her must-have ingredients. She loves Italian, Filipino and Thai cuisine, but homemade pasta is what she enjoys making the most.
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Melissa
age N/A
hometown Maryland
resides in Boulder, CO
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Sous Chef, Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Palace
Culinary Education: Baltimore International College
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Spicy snap pea salad

Bio:Born in Maryland and raised on a horse farm, Melissa spent her youth surrounded by farm fresh produce and livestock. Her upbringing influenced her love of food and cooking from an early age. After receiving her culinary degree from Baltimore International College, Melissa relocated to Boulder, Colorado where she currently serves as a Sous Chef at Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Palace. Dedicated to creating soulful Latin America cuisine, her favorite part of cooking is making people happy. Melissa's goals and plans for the future include endless travel, culinary endeavors and continually expanding her food knowledge.
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Patrick
age 21
hometown Quincy, MA
resides in Hyde Park, NY
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Eliminate, episode 1

Position: Culinary student Culinary
Education: A.O.S. Culinary Arts, C.I.A. working on BPS Culinary Arts Management
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Berries with balsamic, honey, mint, basil and tart yogurt. For spring: Fresh pasta with fresh morels sautéed in butter and white wine.

Bio:Patrick is currently a student at the Culinary Institute of America. With an inherent love for cooking, he was inspired as a child by his mother and grandmother and today by food writer Michael Pollan. Patrick has always had a love for the arts, both performing and visual and tries to incorporate them into every dish he creates. With ingredients as his medium of art, he is inspired by quality and freshness and enjoys making fresh vegetable dishes like succotash, pisto and ratatouille. He has a passion for sustainable agriculture and hopes to educate and promote support for local farmers and growers.
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Radhika
age 28
hometown Chicago
resides in Chicago
Elimination Challenge Wins: 1/0
Quickfire Wins: 1/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Executive Chef, Between Boutique Café & Lounge Culinary Education: A.O.S. Culinary Arts, the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago
Favorite Simple Recipes: For summer: Roasted red and yellow beet salad with mixed greens, herb crusted beef tenderloin and crispy goat cheese balls

Bio:Radhika currently works as the Executive Chef at Between Boutique Café & Lounge in Chicago. A first generation Indian American, Radhika was born in Ohio and raised in an eclectic Indian-tradition home. Trained in classic French and Indian cuisine, she has worked alongside notable chef Vikas Khanna and has staged at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. She has traveled the world over learning new techniques and flavor profiles and brings spice and bold flavors to the table combined with grace and restraint. Her favorite dish to prepare is spicy chicken and potato curry with cumin scented rice with clarified butter and mint. She describes her cooking style as globally eclectic with a huge spoonful of love.
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Richard
age 27
hometown Sayville, Long Island, NY
resides in San Diego, CA
Elimination Challenge Wins: 0/0
Quickfire Wins: 0/0
status: Eliminated Episode 3

Position: Executive Sous Chef, Confidential Restaurant & Loft, San Diego Culinary Education: Diplome Professionale du Commis de Cuisine, San Diego Culinary Institute
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Lightly grilled chicken breast, crumbled gorgonzola, dried cranberries, baby spinach salad, all tossed with a light balsamic vinaigrette

Bio:Richard is the Executive Sous Chef at Confidential Restaurant & Loft in the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego. Richard grew up in food service. His father has served as a restaurant manager for years and his mother and stepfather have owned several bagel businesses in Long Island where Richard spent many summers during his youth. He's been trained by world traveled chefs in classic French techniques and their modern applications. His motto in the kitchen is, "Keep it simple (stupid)" - and he likes to do just that by keeping his plates simple and infused with natural harmony versus chaotic noise. At Confidential, Richard likes to "play" with his food through the small plates style of dining, which allows him to create many new dishes for his guests to combine. On the side, he also works at the San Diego bar, Pecs.
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Stefan
age 35
hometown Tampere, Finland
resides in Santa Monica, CA
Elimination Challenge Wins: 1/0
Quickfire Wins: 1/0
status: Still Cooking

Position: Chef, StefansCatering.com
Culinary Education: CMC, Wurzburg Schweinfurt
Favorite Simple Recipes: For spring: Wedge of iceberg lettuce with bacon and blue cheese dressing

Bio:Stefan was born in Finland but spent the majority of his childhood in Germany, where he began culinary training in his early teens. He worked his way through various European kitchens, learning new techniques and collecting awards along the way. In 1998, he joined master chefs Grant McPherson, Sotta Kuhn, Jacques Torres, Jean Philip Maury and Marc Poidevin as part of the creative team for the opening of the Bellagio Hotel, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. As Executive Sous-Chef, he created, developed and executed menus for the $25 million-dollar banquet kitchen. Since then, he has held a number of Executive Chef positions and most recently worked with Celestino Drago at Enoteca Drago before opening his own business, Stefan's Catering in Santa Monica. Although he currently resides in Los Angeles, he spends his summer months hunting and fishing in his native Finland.