Top Chef Houston Recap: Monday Morning Leftovers

Houston, we definitely do NOT have a problem. Like Fred Flintstone’s foot-powered Cavemobile, Top Chef Houston hit the ground running. Not surprisingly, Season 19 kicked off with an episode that introduced us to the cheftestants on a macro level while also providing just enough of a taste of most of their personalities.

With just that amuse-bouche, I was able to identify chefs that I found intriguing and a few that I’m already giving the side-eye to. Character trait first impressions aside, I also always endeavor to hone in on the chefs who I think will survive long into the competition, an exercise that can easily and quickly become futile. Sara Hauman was an early favorite of mine after Top Chef Portland’s premiere, yet only lasted until week eight. I was also interested in Dawn Burrell and despite recurring issues with the clock, she enjoyed more lives than a cat. Conversely, Gabriel Pascuzzi rubbed me the wrong way from the start and was gone by week six.

Speaking of Dawn Burrell, the irony of her admonition to the new group of chefs before the Quickfire Challenge that “the clock is not your friend” was not lost on me and I’m sure countless other Top Chef viewers. The Houston-based chef and Top Chef Season 18 finalist joined Top Chef Seattle winner Kristen Kish as alumni guest judges on the premiere and continued the appealing inclusion of past participants as judging panelists.

The cast of chefs competing on Top Chef Houston, while not household names, is an impressive one. With a handful of James Beard Award nominees and eight chefs who have worked in Michelin-starred kitchens including one, Luke Kolpin, that worked at a restaurant honored as the best in the world multiple times, Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, it became quickly obvious that this season’s competition won’t be for the faint of heart.

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RANDOM THOUGHTS

…Any discussion about Top Chef must begin and end with the show’s three main judges. As long as Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio are present and accounted for, Top Chef is a shoo-in to excel. They’re Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul without the chest hair, Elton Johnesque eyewear, and ditziness.

…I’ll admit to being fascinated by Jackson Kalb, primarily for the fact that he entered the competition having just recovered from Covid-19 and still having not regained his sense of smell or taste. For obvious reasons, those two senses are vital to a chef, but if Christine Ha could overcome blindness to win MasterChef, who’s to say that Chef Kalb can’t prevail on Top Chef Houston?

…Jackson Kalb summed up his contradictory confidence and sensory disadvantage during the Elimination Challenge when he said of his take on Vitello Tonnato, “I know it sounds gross, but I promise you it’s not. But I can’t really taste much.”

…Unlike Top Chef Portland, which enjoyed a kumbaya vibe from start to finish, I detected a bit more of the traditional Top Chef edge in Season 19’s premiere last week. As much as I loved Top Chef Portland, I’m not at all disappointed by what I perceive to be lying ahead, a season with more conflict and intensity. Not only does that make for great competition, but it often also makes for great television.

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…On the season premiere, I immediately connected with Sam Kang, whose pure joy was palpable, but who also would appear to have an innate feel for how not to approach the competition in commenting that “you can taste crazy in food.” I’m eager to see how far his smile and awareness take him.

…I found myself intrigued by Buddha Lo as well, but for an entirely different reason. He’s worked at two different Michelin-starred restaurants and his style is rooted in classic French cooking, yet his demeanor strikes me as one that might make him easily flappable. I’m curious to see if nerves get the better of him in the Top Chef Kitchen.

…Then again, maybe I’m misreading Buddha’s makeup, as he has already been brave enough to serve a dish with the most unappetizing name we’re likely to hear this season, Spotted dick. Spotted dick is a traditional British dessert that is basically a steamed pudding with suet and Chef Lo was brave enough to serve it during the first Elimination Challenge of the season.

…The third chef that caught my eye during the premiere was Ashleigh Shanti. The Asheville, North Carolina-based Shanti specializes in what Padma called afrolachian cuisine, a nod to both her personal and culinary roots.

…It was also Ashleigh Shanti who realized that “we’re enjoying each other’s company so much that I forgot someone’s going home tonight” as the 15 chefs waited in the stew room for the judges’ decision.

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…In the end, a surprised Robert Hernandez earned best dish honors for week one, while Leia Gaccione earned the season’s first ticket to Last Chance Kitchen. Despite being the dreaded first elimination, Chef Gaccione said “I’m a fighter. Don’t count me out just yet.”

…If you’re numbered among the Top Chef fans who haven’t taken the time to watch the weekly installments of Last Chance Kitchen, I encourage you to do so during Season 19. Available online, not only is LCK an exciting quick burst of competition, but it has also produced three eventual Top Chef winners, Kristen Kish, Brooke Williamson, and Joe Flamm. As the old saying goes, if at first, you don’t succeed, cook, cook again. Or something like that.

Top Chef is back and Houston is the diverse culinary landscape upon which the cheftestants will find inspiration for creating their dishes, so viewers can rest easy knowing that for the next couple of months, all is well again in the overcrowded world of food competition shows.

Now that you’ve watched the season premiere of Top Chef Houston, which chefs stood out to you as serious candidates to go far in the competition?