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Top Chef: Wisconsin Recap: Under Pressure
It’s difficult to judge the chefs when the point of the challenge is so confusing.
Everyone’s freaked out, and it’s a jarring transition from that anxiety to Christina Tosi of Milk Bar showing up in a baby-pink jumpsuit and wheeling out a tray of dairy-based desserts popular in the Midwest, like cream puffs, kringle pastry, and frozen custard. They like the big swings of: Soo’s “General Soo’s shrimp” battered in chicken skin and served with salsa verde and salsa roja (good chaos because eating the dish requires wiping the plate); Manny’s esquites risotto with burnt tortilla aioli (Manny says of the dish that “maybe the chaos is that simplicity,” which feels tellingly farcical); Dan’s okonomiyaki funnel cake with a million toppings, including crabs, pickles, caviar, herbs, and clams (good because Dan turned a traditional dessert savory); Danny’s scallop chou farci with yuzu kosho foam (Kristen calls his update of something classically French with Japanese flavors “luscious” and “technical”); and Savannah’s potato souffle with golden milk, tropical fruit, and mustard greens (Matty: “It’s nice!”). Sliding through the middle are Kevin’s potato with raspberry, tarragon, and white chocolate (it doesn’t seem tasty, but Matty says “This is chaos because I’m confused, actually”) and Kaleena’s “trash burrito”-inspired agnolotti (positively compared flavor-wise with Hamburger Helper, but not technically impressive).
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