Top Chef Colorado recap: Food trucks food flops

In this Top Chef Colorado recap, two cheftestants leave the competition. It’s not about the accolades it’s about the food.

With Top Chef Colorado recap only three episodes in, the competition is a little erratic. While some fans can predict the potential top and bottom chefs in each challenge, the competition isn’t always predictable. Even the chefs with the most awards can have bad days, and even go home.

Top Chef Season 15 episode 3 opens with a sudden death quickfire. The chefestant losing the quickfire challenge would immediately be sent home. Given the magnitude of this challenge, the cheftestants with the most air time during the challenge were going to be in the bottom or the top. It’s the nature of a reality television show.

The quickfire challenge had the cheftestants reinvent the Denver omelet. Given that this Top Chef season is located in Colorado, a Denver omelet challenge was a little predictable. If these cheftestants didn’t have a clue that something like this challenge was coming, they weren’t prepared for Top Chef.

Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

A few of the top dishes were very creative. The winning reinvented Denver omelet was made by Brother. His dish featured a smoked egg with tempura battered cheese. The egg was an innovative twist on an omelet. No other chef thought to serve the egg whole, nor used smoke. By combining bolder flavors and creative textures, Brother was a step above the other chefs. With his win, he received immunity in the elimination challenge.

The three bottom quickfire chefs were Laura, Rogelio and Tanya. Their Denver omelet dishes were technically flawed. If an egg should be runny, don’t serve the judges an egg that is over. Of course, any chef can have a bad day. Still, no chef wants a single bad dish to send her home, but it happened.

In an omelet cook-off, the three bottom chefs had to make a perfect French omelet. A French omelet is all about perfect timing. In reality, this egg dish is just a soft egg, small curds, no filling, delicately folded, and definitely no brown.

This challenge is strictly a technique and execution challenge.

Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

Unfortunately, Laura’s French omelet was a complete disaster. She didn’t time her dish well and the egg was undercooked. Laura was eliminated in the sudden death quickfire.

This initial challenge shows that even the best chef can have a bad day. Laura’s head and heart wasn’t in that specific competition. That lesson is an important one for the home cook. If you’re not inspired by a dish, if you’re not invested in the dish, and if you’re not present, your food is not going to be as good as it could be.

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Moving onto the elimination challenge, the remaining cheftestants split teams of three. Each team had prepare three dishes on a food truck. Food trucks can produce some of the most delicious, innovative food in a city. But, these chefs aren’t accustomed to cooking in a food truck. That dynamic can make good food go bad.

This elimination challenge was as much about good food as it was about smart planning. Knowing the audience, understanding the prep and executing the dish were all key elements to surviving to cook another day. Even though the audience was college kids, the food didn’t need to be dumbed down. Two food trucks succeeded and two food trucks didn’t.

The best dishes of the day were dishes that anyone would eat in a restaurant, not just a food truck. For example, a good chicken wing isn’t just a food truck, college hangover meal. People crave a sticky, flavorful, delicious chicken wing. It doesn’t matter is that chicken wing comes from a Michelin Star restaurant or the city corner.
Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

The bottom team was the green team, consisting of Bruce, Rogelio and Brother. Since Brother had immunity, he wasn’t going home. His fried dough was a mess. The dish suffered from technical flaws. Making dough in a food truck, in the heat wasn’t a smart choice.

Bruce, the chef who knows everyone, suffered from a poorly conceived dish. Sure, sometimes people crave something greasy as hangover food, but it doesn’t need to be a grease bomb. There were a few redeeming qualities to his sandwich, but it definitely needed a do-over.
Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

Lastly, Rogelio’s corn salad was a mess. The dish should have either been cold or hot. Serving it room temperature did nothing for the dish. Also, the salad lacked acid. Like the quickfire challenge, Rogelio suffered from lack of conviction in his dish. If the chef doesn’t believe in his dish, the judges will taste it in his food. Rogelio was sent home.
Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

While the food is always the biggest component of any Top Chef Colorado recap, the innuendo in this episode was a little surprising. With all the concerns about behavior choices, attitudes and equality, many comments in the episode were surprising.

After editing out a judge in a Top Chef episode, did anyone question the food truck names or the sly little comments during the food truck challenge? Calling a truck, down the chin is a double entendre, and the chefs even admitted it in the episode. What about the comment about a hot box? Sure, it is Top Chef Colorado, but still did anyone else catch that statement?

At least in this episode, a male cheftestant was sent home. The first three cheftestants eliminated were women. Granted, Laura’s omelet this week was a disaster. It was unfortunate that she had a bad day on a sudden death quickfire. Still, it was disheartening to see another woman chef sent home. Of course, it is always about the food, not the chef’s gender. The best chef should win.

Related Story: Top Chef edits out judge

Another Top Chef Colorado recap comes to a close. Will next week’s episode see another upset or can fans start to predict the top and bottom cheftestants? Check back next week to find out.

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