A Vegan Feast on 'Top Chef'
Score one for "Top Chef Masters." Last night's "Dietary Restrictions" episode really showcased how delicious food could be without the use of meat, fish, or dairy. In fact, although Michael Chiarello was crowned the winner (and rightfully so), Hubert Keller and Rick Bayless also deserved major kudos for their dishes' ingenuity.
Chiarello's challenge was bigger than the judges may have realized. Using nontraditional pasta puts extra pressure on the sauce and other accompaniments -- and Chiarello's salsa verde hit a home run from all accounts. Similarly, Keller took some basic vegetables and transformed it into a luxurious appetizer in something just short of brilliant. Bayless, meanwhile, stuck to his Mexican cooking and turned in another proud dish.
Conversely, it was plainly obvious that Anita Lo and Art Smith didn't give it their all when planning the menu. Lo's grilled eggplant seemed tasty on the surface but didn't seem to have that pizazz that Lo has added in previous weeks. She easily, if she wanted to stick to her roots, could have done an Asian-inspired eggplant stir-fry -- or take one from Chiarello's book and do a fried eggplant using gluten-free flour and/or bread crumbs.
Meanwhile, Smith clearly should have done a sorbet. I've had plenty of dairy-free sorbets out of a carton that were delicious and there's no doubt that somebody with Smith's talent could have created something scrumptious. But his heart wasn't into it and, like Lo, just hoped to survive with a sub-par effort.
And it doesn't get easier next week. The season's penultimate episode, "Masters of Disaster," challenges the chefs to cook while blindfolded and then direct former "Top Chef" cast members to make a dish without doing any of the cooking themselves. The coming attractions featured Dale, but also included fan favorite Jamie, Betsy, Spike (for the second straight week), and Richard Blais.
The finale, by the way, airs right after the season premiere of "Top Chef Las Vegas" and stars winners Harold Dieterle, Ilan Hall, Hung Huynh, Stephanie Izard, and Hosea Rosenberg along with Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons.
Chiarello's challenge was bigger than the judges may have realized. Using nontraditional pasta puts extra pressure on the sauce and other accompaniments -- and Chiarello's salsa verde hit a home run from all accounts. Similarly, Keller took some basic vegetables and transformed it into a luxurious appetizer in something just short of brilliant. Bayless, meanwhile, stuck to his Mexican cooking and turned in another proud dish.
Conversely, it was plainly obvious that Anita Lo and Art Smith didn't give it their all when planning the menu. Lo's grilled eggplant seemed tasty on the surface but didn't seem to have that pizazz that Lo has added in previous weeks. She easily, if she wanted to stick to her roots, could have done an Asian-inspired eggplant stir-fry -- or take one from Chiarello's book and do a fried eggplant using gluten-free flour and/or bread crumbs.
Meanwhile, Smith clearly should have done a sorbet. I've had plenty of dairy-free sorbets out of a carton that were delicious and there's no doubt that somebody with Smith's talent could have created something scrumptious. But his heart wasn't into it and, like Lo, just hoped to survive with a sub-par effort.
And it doesn't get easier next week. The season's penultimate episode, "Masters of Disaster," challenges the chefs to cook while blindfolded and then direct former "Top Chef" cast members to make a dish without doing any of the cooking themselves. The coming attractions featured Dale, but also included fan favorite Jamie, Betsy, Spike (for the second straight week), and Richard Blais.
The finale, by the way, airs right after the season premiere of "Top Chef Las Vegas" and stars winners Harold Dieterle, Ilan Hall, Hung Huynh, Stephanie Izard, and Hosea Rosenberg along with Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons.
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