Top Chef Colorado recap, episode 6: German spring roll?

Raise a stein and say prost! In this Top Chef Colorado recap, the chefs created German inspired dishes that paired with a radler.

In Top Chef Season 15, the chefs have battled the elements, struggled with direction and handled an unusual twist. Truthfully, they all could use a break from the competition. While raising a stein or two of German beer might be inviting, that invitation always comes with a few strings attached. In this week’s Top Chef Colorado recap, one chef can’t justify a German spring roll.

Before the cooking challenges took over, one side story put a big change into the competition. Last week, LeAnne returned to the competition after co-winning Last Chance Kitchen. But, her health suffered. Being pregnant and competing in Top Chef isn’t necessarily a winning combination.

LeAnne missed the Quickfire challenge and then chose to leave the competition. She could have been a major force in the competition. But, she is applauded for putting her health first.
Back to the food in this week’s Top Chef Colorado recap.

The quickfire challenge came with a big reward, beyond immunity. Everyone knows the Tasty videos. In a matter of minutes, these videos can inspire anyone to create a delicious meal. In this challenge, the chefs had to re-create one of their complicated meals in 30 minutes. The winning dish would get the chef immunity and a Tasty video.

Top Chef Season 15 episode 6 photo from Bravo

Looking at all these chefs dishes, the home cook could have difficulty in creating such complicated dishes. Let’s be honest, most home cooks don’t serve duck or homemade gnocchi. Looking at all the dishes, only a few truly be easily re-created by the home cook.

The winning dish was Chris’ pepper pot shrimp. This choice was a smart one for the Top Chef judges. The recipe was rather straight forward. A one pot shrimp dish translates well to a Tasty video. It is easy to watch, colorful and adaptable for the home cook.

Also, this dish reflects the ethnic spice trends that are popular for the home chef. Spicy dishes are more accepted. No one wants the old, boring dishes. Plus, this dish has a personal connection that people relate to. Who wouldn’t want to re-create a dish that has meaning?

For the Quickfire win, Chris got immunity in the elimination challenge. Given the challenge ahead of him, the immunity was important.

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In this week’s Top Chef Colorado recap, the main challenge had the chefs take on German food. Colorado has a vibrant beer scene. Showcasing German beer and German food is a smart choice for Top Chef.

This challenge presented a difficult scenario for the chefs. While they needed to create a German inspired dish, they need to infuse a part of their culinary point of view. Still, balance is key. Too far in either direction could cause a chef to be pack their knives.

Elevating German food isn’t necessarily an easy task either. When people think about German food, brats, pretzels and other heavy dishes instantly come to mind. Sure these foods are comforting and pair well with German beer, but these foods aren’t the only German food. Like any ethnic food, German food can have heart, soul and nuanced flavors. The chefs need to tap into those differences.

Top Chef Colorado recap, photo from Bravo

In addition to the food component, the chefs had to create their personal radler. A radler is a beer that is half beer and half lemonade, juice or soda. The beer style is often lighter and sometimes referred to as a shandy. A typical summer drink, the radler is refreshing. In this scenario, it could cut through the heavier components of a German dish.

The chefs who channeled their culinary point of view into the soul of German food succeeded quite well. The three chefs on top were Tanya, Claudette and Bruce. All three chefs found a way to incorporate depth into their dishes, highlight a German food component and be technically superior.

A big surprise to the winning chef, Tanya earned the win. Her dish wasn’t a typical German dish, yet is was highly successful. The reference to German food was clear, it paired well with her radler and she executed well. Tanya definitely deserved this win.

The bottom chefs struggled greatly for very different reasons. Brother, Adrienne, and Joe (mustache Joe) were in the bottom. Two chefs struggled with execution issues and one chef didn’t adhere to the challenge.

Top Chef Colorado recap, photo provided by Bravo

Adrienne has been in the bottom several times. She has a problem with under-seasoned food. Very often the judges comment that her dishes need extra salt. Even a perfectly cooked dish can fail because the seasoning is wrong. She needs to season food for these judges or her next dish could have her packing her knives.

Joe’s dish suffered because he was too ambitious. His dish had too many components to be made for 200 people at a festival. The frying with the crust created dry meat. No amount of beer cheese sauce (especially with the little amount on that plate) could save it.

Also, Joe’s radler was strange. Sure, beet juice is a popular choice for a healthy cocktail, it can make a drink a little gritty. This type of radler was too much for a Top Chef challenge.

Lastly, Brother went a totally different direction in this challenge. In this Top Chef Colorado recap, the chefs had to elevate German food, not completely transform German food into another cuisine. Brother made a German spring roll.

Granted, Brother is influenced by Asian food and culture. Adding an element from those inspirations could have been interesting. But, ignoring the challenge completely isn’t going to earn a win in Top Chef. There wasn’t enough German influences in his dish. He made an Asian spring roll.

Since Brother didn’t adhere to the challenge, he was eliminated. There is a key takeaway from this Top Chef Colorado recap, don’t ignore the challenge at hand. Like last week’s episode, one superior dish is better than a trio, going completely off topic isn’t going to earn a win.

What’s next for Top Chef Colorado? The top competitors and the bottom ones are starting to take shape. Is your favorite on the top or bottom? Check back next week to see if that chef makes the cut.

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