'Top Chef' episode 7 recap - How you like THEM scallops?

January 8, 5:07 AMTop Chef ExaminerMatt Wolf

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Jamie finally wins one

Jamie certainly redeemed herself last night, and what's more, the perennial bridesmaid with several second place finishes this season may have redeemed an entire species.

The dreaded scallop, a delicate mollusk whose line between undercooked and overdone is an extremely thin one, has been the downfall of many a "Top Chef' contestant. Who can forget Dale, one of last season's top competitors, and his disastrous Butterscotch Scallops in the Restaurant Wars episode? Guest judge Anthony Bourdain later said that it was the worst dish he had ever eaten in his multiple appearances on the show. And then there was Spike, in the very next episode no less, pulling a bag of frozen scallops out of Rick Tramonto's walk-in and missing out on the finale for his troubles.

And then of course last week, we saw Jamie undercook her scallops (soliciting several uses of the word "slimy" from the judges) and wind up near the bottom of the pack. Most, if not every single chef who has ever been on the show, one must think, would likely steer clear of scallops after that and move on. But what does Jamie do? She whips up a brilliant Seared Sea Scallops with Roasted Fennel dish, that's what she does. I'll come right out and say it... I'm rooting for Jamie from here on out. Homegirl didn't care about the judges, homegirl came with some straight-up punk rock.

The quickfire had Padma and guest judge Jean-Christophe Novelli walking out of the kitchen with all of the sugar and then telling the chefs to cook a dessert. You could tell that many of the contestants, Jamie included, seemed to throw in the towel early on this one. Not Radhika though, who registered her second quickfire win with her Wheat Challah Bread Pudding. Leah continued her quickfire brilliance with an honorable mention for her Crepes with Whipped Ricotta, and Jeff finally got some early-show recognition with his Baklava Spring Roll. 

The chefs were then split into two shifts, and told that they could all individually cook whatever they wanted for the four judges and "a group of foodies and critics." They were also told that two contestants would be getting cut by the elimination knife, making Radhika's immunity that much more valuable. Radhika was also given her choice of shifts, and she based her decision solely on "not being in the kitchen with Stefan." Hilarious.

Watching the chefs shop at Whole Foods and figuring out what they would cook, it was easy to see that Gene was headed for trouble. Even I know that you don't cook daikon (basically a radish) and put it into a hot dish. Gene either knew that he was in over his head and needed to shoot the moon with a dazzling odds-defying dish, or, as I've mentioned before, the stress of the competition was getting to him. Or both.

When it came time to eat, it was revealed that the group of "foodies and critics" would be none other than the contestants. First up was Radhika, who despite her immunity, did not seem to half-ass the elimination challenge. Still, her Crab Bisque was universally disliked, leading to new judge Toby Young's first great line of the night: "I have found the weapons of mass destruction, and they are in this bowl." Young then went on to observe of Gene's dish that it was, "the bland leading the bland," and that Melissa's fish tacos "tasted like cat food." Cat food! How the hell would he know? For more of Young's brilliance, check out his blog on the episode, which includes his adversarial history with none other than Novelli, as well as the conflict's drunken resolution.

When every dish had been eaten, Ariane and her Pan Seared Skate Wing with Cauliflower Puree and Stefan, with his Roasted Duck with Pretzel Dumplings and Red Cabbage joined Jamie in the winner's circle.

Carla joined Gene and Melissa at the judges' table for execution time, and escaped on the strength of her risotto. Gene and Melissa were both hit pretty hard, Melissa for what Colicchio called a "failure of imagination," and Gene for those daikons, as well as a lack of flavor. Colicchio even went so far as to embody an animal-rights activist and mourn the death of the red snapper that had given its life for Gene's disaster.

Below is some bonus video of Gene and Melissa showing up at the seclusion house with the other eliminated chefs. I don't know if it was the beer talking, but Gene starts right in on how the show is "rigged" for Ariane and her ratings-friendly comfort food. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines!

For what it's worth, I've seen bonus video of the shopping trip from this episode. The chefs are always given a budget at Whole Foods (aren't we all), and this time it was a hundred bucks, which, when you're feeding twelve people, isn't much. Both Stefan and Jamie went slightly over, and Ariane, who had room left over in her budget, paid for some of their items. Remember... this is a competition. That is really an extraordinary move on Ariane's part, especially when you consider that Stefan and Jamie were both in the top three with her. She probably could've carried the day simply by saying, "Nope, sorry, staying within your budget is part of the competition." So screw the conspiracy theorists... Ariane's just a great cook. Get over it.

But wait... maybe Ariane only did that because she knows that the show is rigged in her favor, and maybe Bravo wants her to fool the viewers into thinking she's an angel, and... oh christ, listen to me!