The spotlight is on Wisconsin in Season 21 of Top Chef, and Milwaukee is already at the forefront of the first episode!
Right off the bat we get some beautiful establishing shots of downtown Milwaukee, including the iconic Calatrava and Hoan Bridge. This is Kristen Kish’s first season hosting the show, after previously competing in and winning Season 10. She herself is from the Midwest, having grown up in Michigan.
Perhaps the most exciting part of watching this season is not just the Wisconsin setting, but also watching local competitor Chef Dan Jacobs of DanDan and EsterEv. Chef Dan certainly has his work cut out for him – though he is a James Beard nominated chef, there are several other contestants who can say the same, as well as a few who have worked at Michelan star restaurants.
Avid fans of Top Chef will see a few rule changes from what they’re used to. The chefs were surprised right away to find there would be no immunity granted for a quick-fire challenge win. Instead, the winner of the elimination challenge will receive immunity for the following week’s elimination.
Elimination Challenge
Now, let's get straight into the elimination challenge. The competitors were divided into 3 groups based on each judge’s selection. Kristen Kish’s group had to make a soup, Judge Gail Simmons’ group was tasked with making stuffed pasta, and Judge Tom Colicchio asked his group to make a roasted chicken dish that utilizes the whole chicken.
The group had 30 minutes and $200 to grocery shop. The chefs cooked and served their dishes at Lupi and Iris. Owner Adam Siegel and another Milwaukee chef Paul Bartolotta served as guest judges. Dan joked with the ‘pasta’ group that they’re in trouble because that's Adam Siegel's specialty.
For a Midwestern viewer, it's a little funny hearing the competitors talk about Chef Dan — aka “Mr. Milwaukee” — while discussing “Midwest nice.”
We also learned a lot of background on the competitors, but the one who stands out the most is Chef David. He wears a cowboy hat — apparently even in the kitchen — and is full of jokes.
Milwaukeeans will happily recognize the spot where the chefs all had their first social get together on the show as Blu at the Pfister. It's a perfect spot to take in some amazing city skyline and share some drinks.
Competition Day 2
The next morning the competition started again, and the competitors got to cooking in the kitchen at Lupi and Iris. Eventually the team was joined by the judges to present their dishes.
The stuffed pasta contestants started it off and made the following:
- Kevin: Squid ink raviolo with lobster and shrimp, bisque and fennel puree
- David: Mushroom stuffed gnocchi with speck & chicken liver gravy, mascarpone & Calabrian chili
- Rasika: Keema stuffed kozhukattai with Kurma
- Alisha: Ricotta gnocchi stuffed with mushroom bechamel, truffle goat cheese and preserved lemon
- Michelle: Ricotta and lobster stuffed pasta with charred corn sauce and chorizo
Michelle won the pasta round. The judges loved her thin dough and the balance of the dish. The judges’ least favorite was Cowboy David. They seemed frustrated when he mentioned that pasta is just not his thing.
Next was the soup round with these dishes:
- Charly: Corn and ham soup with pickled shrimp
- Manny: Green pozole with chicken and charred salsa verde
- Dan: Tomato and fennel broth with seafood
- Laura: Yuvalama mint yogurt soup with bulgur meatballs, morel and maitake mushrooms
- Amanda: Chicken and dumplings with citrus gremolata
Manny took home this round. The least favorite went to Amanda because her soup was too salty.
Finally, the chicken round. We saw the following:
- Kenny: Pho butter roasted chicken with coconut carrot mashed potatoes
- Kaleena: Roasted chicken with spiced curry, corn, and shiitake and lobster mushrooms
- Danny: Fines herbes roasted chicken, brown butter sherry vinaigrette and carrot miso puree.
- Savannah: Roasted chicken with avgolemono sauce, chicken skin gremolata and potato puree
- Valentine: Roasted harissa chicken, corn puree and warm shishito salad
The chicken winner was Danny. The least favorite was Kenny. He didn’t ‘complete' the challenge by having both dark and light meat on each plate.
The judges then picked their favorite of the top 3 and least favorite of the bottom 3.
The overall winner was Manny! He won the first immunity of the season and therefore cannot be eliminated next week.
Who's going home?
Next, the three least favorites were up for elimination. But surprise! The judges opted not to eliminate anyone just yet.... Instead sending competitors into an immediate cook off!
The challenge: just make a good plate of food, right then and there. They had 20 minutes with all the ingredients they could find leftover in the kitchen.
Cowboy David really struggled in this competition. He seemed to keep everyone laughing, contestants and judges included, but watching him run around the kitchen repeating that he doesn’t know what he’s doing really didn't really make it seem like he was meant to be there.
The three present their dishes:
- David: poached shrimp with tomatoes cilantro and green curry sauce
- Kenny: Vietnamese cabbage salad
- Amanda: Snapper crudo
Ultimately David was eliminated in the first episode. He clearly wasn’t all that prepared to be there, and even his hat couldn’t save him.
The episode ended with the elimination, but previews for the rest of the season look so exciting! This season will take the show all over Wisconsin, including stops in Madison and Door County.
It will be fun to watch our state in the national spotlight!
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
