By Jennifer Larson

Tonight’s episode of TOP CHEF was my kind of show. Ice cream and hangover snacks, now that’s what I call food!

This week’s Quickfire Challenge had the contestants creating creamy ice cream and decadent toppings. Of course, everything looked delicious. In fact, I’m surprised there was any left over for quest judge, Chef Govind Armstrong, to taste. As if that culinary delight wasn’t enough, the elimination-round involved quintessential snacks for hangovers. This is the kind of stuff that separates the amateur cook from the top chef, so to speak. I mean come on, you have to know your basics, before you can be considered one of the best, and you don’t get more basic than food that can quell the alcohol induced munchies … right?

I know this kind of challenge makes a lot of the contestants moan and groan, I think they feel it’s beneath them. Remember Harold’s reaction when he – and the other contestants from season one – where given the challenge of turning vending machine crap into edible delicacies?  But, this is TV folks, and watching these people – who, in many cases, are highly trained in the culinary arts – being forced to work with ingredients they wouldn’t serve to their cats, is just pure entertainment. Even better, is the fact that they are so good that some of them actually manage to turn this everyday food into works of art. The level of talent and creativity on this show never fails to amaze me.

Maybe it’s because they are so creative that a few of the contestants went off the deep end. What was Hung thinking? I mean, cauliflower foam? Good god, most people don’t even like cauliflower when it’s presented as a side dish. I know I have to smother it with cheese sauce just to get the stuff down. But, you can’t fault the guy for pushing the envelope. As they say, go big or go home? Casey’s hot chili paste didn’t win any brownie points either. Surprisingly, howie's creation, which included balsamic vinegar, got him in the top two. But, the winner of this challenge was Dale, who delivered an old standby … peach cobbler. Come on, who doesn’t love peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. That was a no brainer, if you ask me.

The presentation of the elimination-round was nothing short of cruel. These poor contestants – who have been deprived of any form of entertainment other than yelling at each other - were told they were getting the night out to party in Miami. In reality, they were stationed outside one of the town’s famous hot spots, and told to cook up enticing hangover snacks for sloppy drunks. Even worse, they were paired up in teams, and we all know how much these guys love working together.
As usual, our man Howie managed to piss off everybody around him. It takes a very patient person to deal with his ruff and gruff exterior. That’s ok, they had ex- professional volley- ball player, CJ, there to pump up the team spirit. And can somebody please make Howie wear a hand band, hat or anything else that will soak up that nasty sweat that seems to spew out of his head in every challenge? While Howie and his team came up with – what I thought – was the better choice of food, this challenge was half culinary skills and half salesmen ship. And, based on the crowd gathered around the other team’s truck, I’d say they had the edge on this one.

It turns out I was right. The black team, which included Brian, Hung, Tre and Sara M, won the challenge. But, the ultimate winner was Tre, for his southern cheese grits. Maybe Tre is on his way back up. Now, let’s just see whether he can survive the TOP CHEF curse. It seems as if most of the people who win, turn around and get kicked off the following week. But, that doesn’t matter tonight, so congratulations Tre.

Meanwhile, Sara N and Howie aired some dirty laundry at the judge’s inquisition. Feeling demoralized by having to cook in a low-cut shirt and high heels, Sara N was a major downer in the kitchen, which gave Howie a scapegoat to lay all the blame on for the team’s loss. But, that’s no excuse for making the poor girl cry. Although, the fact that she did cry did kind of explain why the judges felt she wasn’t strong enough for this competition. Yep, tonight was Sara N’s time to go. So, Howie slips by once again and lives to sweat another day.