Lesson learned in this week’s Top Chef episode: Even top chefs use cake mix. The contestants this week were told they had to cater a wedding for 100 people, including the cake – and the wedding was 16 hours away. They also had to shop at an all-night grocery store in one hour and settle for ingredients on hand like sub-par salmon. The whole task was completely unfair, but the chefs did the best they could, especially considering they had to pull an all-nighter.
The one dish there were no complaints about? The cake (except that one guest found an eggshell…), which was made from Betty Crocker white cake mix. The chefs did make their own fondant and filling, but as one contestant explained after a judge found the cake mix box, it’s better to have something you can depend on and deliver a quality product than have a cake fail and be without a wedding cake at all.
I don’t know about you, but besides little kids’ birthday cakes, I’ve always felt a little guilty when I’ve resorted to a cake mix. I have great recipes for tortes and french tarts and such, and have felt the need to pull out all the stops on any given occasion that requires a cake. Now I feel like a have permission to bake from a mix and call it good. But I will definitely make my own frosting, because the canned stuff just is not the same.
But back to Top Chef. This episode was also great because Stephen the sommelier finally got sent packing. He was more annoying than usual, educating guests and instructing the wait staff rather than getting his hands dirty in the kitchen. With only 16 hours to cater an ambitious menu (the Quick Fire challenge had the chefs compete to create an appetizer to taste and work up a menu for the couple for a Pan-Asian dinner. Of course when Lee Anne created her winning menu, she had no idea of the ingredient or time restraints) Stephen should have been working his butt off with the others in the kitchen rather than droning on about how many ounces of wine should go in each glass.
The three contestants who should still be there are: Harold (go Harold!), Lee Anne and Tiffani. Dave is also there, just because the other chefs like him so much. He hasn’t cooked anything outstanding yet, but he’s a hard worker and has won the respect of the other chefs.