I don't want to say I told you so, but...how come I am not surprised that the Top Chefs from Season One won the All Star Smack Down Competition? Favorite moments? Dave gave us another t-shirt slogan when he talked about Marcel.(Read the title of this post, dahlings.)
Watching our chefs cook eggs with one hand behind their backs was priceless. Our seasoned cheftestants looked mighty awkward. The result? Team captains Marcel and Stephen got to choose which chefs would be responsible for which dishes.
We were also treated to another Marcel rap. Hah! I'll say this about Marcel: He's true to himself! You've gotta admire his self-confidence.
Another memorable moment was when Ilan dropped Marcel's precisely cut mangoes on the floor. Talk about a Freudian slip! And then he proceeded to make a mess of his duck dish. And this guy won Season Two? To be fair to Ilan, he told Marcel that he wasn't happy working with duck, and Marcel ignored him, looking mighty smug in the process. These two rivals might have paid lip service to saying they've kissed and made up, but in my humble opinion ... HAH!
Stephen was his usual confident self. The look on his face when he realized that his wine choices would benefit Team 2 as much as his own team was priceless.
Six words of advice to Marcel: Foam and gelee melt in heat.
Here are the results of the competition:
Scallop dishes: The edge goes to Elia over Dave
Lobster: The edge goes to Stephen over Marcel
Duck: The edge goes to Harold over Ilan
Kobe beef: The edge goes to Tifanny over Sam
Winner: Team One
Ted Allen, a future regular judge, summed up Ilan best: "What goes on with his hair do?" And he thinks Sam is kinda cute. For those two statements alone I adore Ted, whose knowledge of food is better than some claim.
We also got to meet Season 3 Chefs in a natural manner when they tasted the dishes and provided input.
All in all, this was a satisfying, if predictable episode. And Bravo? The network should pat itself on the back. They know how to showcase food and personalities and keep a food competition interesting. Bring on Season 3, Bravo! I'm ready.
