Two words can make a cheftestant shudder, dessert challenge. On Top Chef Destination Canada, the culinary team found a way to include some iconic Canadian desserts without causing mass panic in the kitchen. This Elimination Challenge was another way that Season 22 has infused the host country’s food and flavors into the storyline.
From team challenges to Restaurant Wars, every Top Chef season has seen a talented chef stumble on a dessert course. While some chefs might have a single recipe in their back pocket, fitting that one concept into a particular challenge is never easy.
In the Top Chef Season 22 episode 4 Elimination Challenge, the cheftestants had use classic Canadian desserts and their flavors as inspiration for a savory dish. Before anyone had to laminate pastry or carefully measure ingredients for a panna cotta, the tension slightly lifted. Still, this challenge was far from simplistic.
The biggest takeaway from this dessert inspired challenge is the concept that ingredients can play in both the sweet and savory world. Many people know that chocolate can be found in mole, but it is more than just one dish. Coffee rubs on pork, orange glazes on duck, and a multitude of other examples fill recipe archives.
The chefs who exceled in this challenge looked at the ingredients and flavor profiles and then interpreted them through their personal culinary lens. For example, Tristan nailed the concept by transforming the spices of a figgy duff into pepper pot dish. Not only did he showcase a dish that connects to him personally, it took that rather dry, texturally dense dessert into a luscious, craveable spice forward dish.
Tristen succeeding in capturing the key element that will always impress the Top Chef judges. Cheftestants who connect with a dish on a personal level, create an engaging concept, and deliver flavor will earn their place in the competition.
In contrast, the chefestants who missed the mark in this Canadian dessert challenge could not see the forest through the trees. They were too focused on the dessert, itself, could not see a path to interpret the concept in a meaningful way.
While Zubair had too many errors to avoid elimination, the more errant dishes were from Katianna and Shuai. Luckily, Katianna had immunity otherwise her rye porridge mess was a poor interpretation of jam jam. Visually mimicking the dessert inspiration can never make up for incoherent flavors. She was too stuck in her head with this challenge. Shuai’s dish was equally a flavor disaster.
In the end, Top Chef Destination Canada proved desserts do not have to be the dreaded challenge of the season. By finding the savory connection to the sweeter side, the chefestants can let their culinary point of view shine. But, one question remains. Why did they not have Beaver Tails as a dessert option?
Top Chef Season 22 airs new episodes Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes can be streamed the next day on Peacock.