- Chefs take their skills to the street. Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), Cindy Pawlcyn (Mustards Grill), Wilo Benet (Pikayo), and Ludo Lefebvre (Ludo Bites) set out to cook the most appealing treat for Los Angeles pedestrians using the unique ingredients provided.—Anonymous
- "Top Chef Masters" - "Offal Tasty" - June 24, 2009
Chefs
Wilo Benet: chef-owner, Pikayo in Puerto Rico, he's Puerto Rico's first celebrity chef, he was a guest judge in Season 4, playing for San Jorge Children's Foundation.
Cindy Pawlcyn: chef-owner Mustard's Grill in Napa Valley, specializes in "intelligent cooking," playing for Clinic Ole.
Ludovic Lefebvre: chef-owner Ludo Bites in L.A., trained in France, an award-winner, playing for C.H.A.S.E. for Life.
Rick Bayless: chef-owner Frontera Grill in Chicago, award winner, playing for Frontera Farmer Foundation, was a judge in season 4.
Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish based on a color (season 2). They have 30 minutes. They're all freaked out except Ludo because his training was so tough in France. Then Ludo gets weeded, Cindy helps him to plate but he still forgets to put something on his plate, tomatoes. Then the waiters forgot to take the beet gazpacho.
Judges:
Chris Oliver, food stylist
Joanne Chanchulli (?),cookbook author
Christina Peters,food photographer
Lefebvre: (Red) Steak Tartare with watermelon, red onions, and beet gazpacho. They like it but Ludo is freaking out. The waiters bring out the gazpacho, they don't think it helps, in fact they think it looks like blood. 3 stars
Pawlcyn: Yellow Vegetable Curry over sweet corn grits with fried corn tortillas. They like it and thinks it looks good. 3 1/2 stars
Bayless: Roasted Vegetables on a banana leaf with mole verde and roasted tomatillos, green chilies and pumpkin seeds. They think it's complex. 4 stars
Benet: Smoked Salmon Tartare with coconut milk and tomato paste sauce. They love the color and texture. They think the flavor is really big. They thought it was a boo-boo to leave the metal ring mold on. 4 1/2 stars
Elimination Challenge: Create a dish that can be easily served on the street. The twist is they each have a funky protein they have to convince people to eat. They are all in the offal family, the parts that are usually discarded.
Benet gets beef hearts.
Bayless gets tongue.
Pawlcyn gets tripe.
Lefevbre gets pig ears.
They get $300 and 45 minutes to shop and 3 hours to cook and 1 hour to prep and to set up their stands at Universal studios. Ludo, who was very confident when hearing about the challenge, has all kinds of problems from prep to set up. They open the doors and Ludo hasn't even cooked a Quesadilla yet because his ovens don't seem to work.
Judges:
Jay Rayner, food critic, The Observer, London
James Oseland, editor-in-chief Saveur magazine
Gael Greene, longtime NY food critic
Folks at Universal Studios
Menus
Bayless: Tongue Tacos with Chorizo, Bacon, Guacamole & Pickled Onions. Oseland thinks it's brilliant, Rayner agrees and calls it powerful breath-wise and Greene says she would have a second. Oseland agrees. The folks joke about Bayless slipping them tongue, har-de-har-har.
Benet Beef Hearts, Ham, and Chicken "Tripleta" in Pita bread. The regular folks really dig the heart. Oseland says there's too much topping, Gael agrees. Rayner likes the variety of textures.
Lefevbre Pork Quesadilla, with Chorizo, Pinto Bean Puree, Lime Aioli & Smoked Paprika. Ludo was having a lot of troubles and when the judges approached he wasn't ready and they hassled him a bit. Oseland thinks the ear texture is appealing but doesn't like the cheese. He thinks it's like a grilled cheese with pig's ear in it. Rayner thinks it's a satisfying mouthful.
Pawlcyn Hot & Spicy Menudo, it's a soup she calls a hangover cure and great to warm your hands. Rayner thinks it's underseasoned, Gael thinks it's sweet and tender, Oseland likes the tripe.
Scores:
Lefevbre 16 1/2 stars
Pawlcyn 15 1/2 stars
Bayless 22 1/2 stars
Benet 19 1/2 stars
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