Top Chef: Las Vegas, Episode 12: One Bocuse d’Or Closes, Another One Opens…

Previously on Top Chef: Las Vegas … Robin left! Maybe that makes you happy (as it surely did some of our cheftestants), or maybe it makes you sad, but to be fair, it was only a matter of time. Michael won, and Jennifer’s still in a funk. But you can read all about it in my recap from last week.

Now a lot is on the line this week: Bryan reminds us that this is the last challenge in Las Vegas before the finals. Big stuff. Kevin is missing his wife, his inspiration to win this whole thing. Eli tells us his mentor is Season 4 cheftestant Richard Blais, whom Eli’s known since he was 17. Eli was the best man at Richard’s wedding! Eli wants to win this competition for runner-up Richard, comparing this Top Chef grudge to the line from The Princess Bride: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Nice.

Quickfire time: Padma’s in the kitchen with Kaysen. Gavin Kaysen that is, a James Beard “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award winner. Gavin represented the U.S. in 2007 in the Bocuse d’Or, the “world’s most difficult cooking competition.” Basically, it’s an international showdown held every two years named after Paul Bocuse, where really talented chefs make really complicated, elaborate platters. Michael compares being selected to cook in this competition to being selected for the Olympics.

For the Bocuse d’Or, Gavin made chicken ballotine with crayfish and chicken liver in the middle, one inside the other. It only took him four months to figure out how to make it, he says. The chefs on this show won’t have that much time – they’ll only have 90 minutes to make a dish that has a protein in a protein in a protein, like Gavin’s. The ballotine is basically the meat being boned, stuffed, and braised or roasted. The winning chef won’t get immunity, but will win a significant advantage for the elimination challenge.

Bryan has done a ballotine and thinks he will prevail … or someone will who’s done it before, anyway. Michael says it’s not about the ballotine, it’s about putting three proteins together, inside of each other. Kevin says there’s no way he’d try to do what the Voltaggios are attempting in only an hour and a half. He talks about his and Eli’s friendship, which existed before the show back in their hometown of Atlanta, but is stronger now. Kevin thinks he and Eli are maybe the “two ballsiest people in this,” because they’re doing homestyle food for Top Chef. They believe in the food they grew up eating, says Kevin.

Jennifer says her strength is seafood, and she’s going with her strength. Michael talks about Jennifer’s struggles – they’ve become friends over the course of the competition, but says there may not be much left for Jen to do at this point.

Eli is doing a play on a Scotch egg – didn’t he do that before at some point? Am I thinking of someone else? It’s a bacon-crusted breakfast sausage with a six-minute egg center.

Michael made poultry terrine chicken with turkey and bacon mousseline. The bacon incorporates fat back into the lean turkey.

Jen made calamari steak, scallops, and salmon with shiitake mushrooms and shiso with rice noodle salad. Why did she choose seafood? she’s asked. She says it’s her strong point. Padma tells the whole story in two words: “Welcome back.” Yay Jen! She feels a huge amount of relief.

Bryan has rack of lamb and merguez sausage (a spicy African protein) wrapped in caul fat. There are several sauces on it too: carrot puree, curry yogurt, pepper coulis, and date and fig puree.

Kevin says he wanted to do something “clichéd and Southern” … so he made a cornmeal-fried fillet of catfish containing a scallop and shrimp. Bryan says Kevin has less finesse than some of the others, and does simple food – “but simplicity’s okay if you do it correct.” I guess he does, because it sure seems to be working for him!

Gavin’s take on each chef: Kevin (catfish was overcooked) – Kevin tells us he begs to disagree; “Sometimes your taste is a little different than somebody else’s.” Bryan (cooked very nicely). Eli (concept was great). Jennifer (pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too tough). Michael (didn’t capture what the challenge wanted). Michael apparently didn’t understand it; he insists the challenge was not to make a ballotine, so he didn’t try to, but … yeah, that’s exactly what the challenge was, not to make a terrine.

But the winner? Jennifer. Wow. She says it feels good to win again – she hasn’t won a Quickfire since the beginning of the season. She needs to remain focused, though.

Elimination challenge: The cheftestants will participate in the show’s on version of the Bocuse d’Or. Each will be creating a presentation platter with one protein and two garnishes. The garnishes will be more than just a vegetable, but should be something very intricate and skillful, such as weaving zucchini into a basket and filling it with something else. Kevin knows that the chefs can’t do a traditional Bocuse d’Or plate, but he judges are still expecting to be wowed.

The chefs have a choice of lamb or salmon as their protein, and will be using a traditional mirrored platter to present food before they plate for the judges. Eli is excited about the challenge, but is concerned by the “elaborate decadence” of the theme, something he’s not familiar with.

The chefs have four hours to cook the next day. Jennifer, for her Quickfire win, receives an additional 30 minutes to cook. She laughs: “Nice! I need it.” Heh.