“Top Chef ”Recap: The Remaining Contestants Are Homesick but Hungry for the Win

After a chef returns from 'Last Chance Kitchen,' the top six compete in game show-esque Quickfire. Former champ Buddha Lo recaps

Buddha Lo is a two-time Top Chef winner, executive chef at Hūso in New York City, and a Saratoga Spring Water brand ambassador. He is sharing his thoughts after each episode of Top Chef season 21, set in Wisconsin, offering a unique perspective as a former cheftestant.

Warning: This article contains spoilers.

We are now in episode 11, and the chefs are missing their families while also focusing on the final stretch. It’s very hard being separated from your loved ones for so long, and that can affect you mentally in the competition.

My wife Rebekah and I endured a two-year separation when I was working in London while she stayed in Australia. That experience was integral in my being able to compete (and win) in back-to-back Top Chef seasons.

Related: Top Chef Winner Buddha Lo and Wife Rebekah Pedler Welcome Twin Daughters: 'Let the Fun Begin'

When the chefs entered the kitchen for the Quickfire Challenge, they found out who was returning from Last Chance Kitchen. When I did both seasons of Top Chef, I realized two contestants would be returning to the competition, so I didn’t get ahead of myself and think I’d made the top five. This time the Last Chance Kitchen winner who rejoined the competition was Laura.

THE QUICKFIRE CHALLENGE

The chefs had to recreate a dish Tom had made earlier for Kristen and Gail, but without seeing or tasting it, only smelling what was left in the bowl and seeing a few remnants. Each chef could ask Tom four yes or no questions.

This was a fun challenge, because it was like a game show where there were lots of strategies, observations, and hints to make the dish successful. Savannah crushed this challenge and impressed the judges when she noticed that woks were in the kitchen for the first time. Everyone did well with their overall dishes, but it came down to who most successfully recreated Tom’s dish. By using the wok, Savannah won.

Related: Top Chef Recap: All-Star Chefs Return for a Battle of the Seafood Boil

THE ELIMINATION CHALLENGE

For the Elimination Challenge, chefs had to create a menu of food using a tabletop as their plate. The guest judge was Curtis Duffy.

Danny got an additional 30 minutes to cook on the second day because he had won the previous Elimination challenge. This challenge was fun and exciting because it got the chefs thinking outside of the plate.

Plating on tabletops is famously known as the final course at the three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago, Alinea by Grant Achatz. It's dramatic, fun and thought-provoking — and a dish that I have yet to consume. 

WHO WON

The top three for this challenge were Danny, Dan and Laura. The chefs that were successful really went with their art-inspired approach. Danny designed his table inspired by Basquiat paintings, cooking black rice paella framed with a border composed of a variety of purees, including black garlic, zucchini and crème fraiche. Judges loved the thoughtfulness of his table design.  

Dan’s looked more like a Jackson Pollack painting, with his vegetarian dish featuring a smoke smoked beet tartar with zucchini pickled apples and shallots with a seed puree, fried kale salad and candied pumpkin seeds, scallion powder, black garlic labne with horseradish emulsion and a “puffin” flatbread.

Laura decided to go sweet, with a mochi ice cream, rose, raspberry and pistachio sauces, clotted cream, and sour cherry with a honey maras, topped perfectly with a crispy baklava ring for dipping. Judges praised her table service and her ability to use use her imagination to make everything come together.

The winner of the Elimination Challenge was Laura and what a way to make a statement coming back from Last Chance Kitchen with that win! Being in the bottom on a challenge or landing in what we like to call “the dark side” (LCK) can really light a fire in you. Having been in the bottom, I know it's all about bouncing back — the last time I was in the bottom, I came back to win four challenges in a row. If Laura does that, she’s the next Top Chef.

WHO LOST

The bottom two for this challenge were Manny and Michelle. It was a risky decision for Manny to do a risotto on such a technical, out-of-the box challenge. But it was apparent to me that Michelle was going home from the start.

Michelle really got in her head on this one because it was not her sort of challenge. This was a chance for Michelle to show off the pitmaster side of her cooking that she had been wanting to do all season.

Related: Top Chef Recap: Immunity Is Gone and the Competition Heats Up

She could have cooked something overnight, like Dan did with his beets. I can only imagine how wonderful the table filled from edge to edge with a beautiful array of smoked meats with sides and condiments would have been.

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Instead, Michelle decided to go with a brunch theme, with cured salmon, beet biscuit, pickled beets with capers, eggs with caviar, fig jam and seasoned potato chips. In the end, she didn’t make good use of the table, and the judges felt her biscuit had a weird texture, the chips were too thin, and Tom felt the brunch “didn’t taste right collectively.” So Michelle was eliminated, ending her amazing journey on Top Chef. 

Top Chef airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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