Pig Tales

TOP CHEF 4, Episode 13
Part 1 - Quickfire!

Since last we met, the cheftestants have been pared down to just four. We've also left the Chicago digs and moved onto Puerto Rico for the first part of the finale. We see the foursome arrive in Puerto Rico and learn that it's been six months since the last episode taped. Stephanie has spent the time touring Asia, Antonia has opened a restaurant, Foxtails and Richard didn't do much worth reporting, apparently. So instead he points out that the three of them had been predicted to make the finals all along, where Lisa is bit of a wild card. And I have to agree - whoda thunk Lisa'd make it to the end? I would have bet on Dale, or Andrew maybe, but never Lisa. But then I have a palate which worships Macks Pizza (and not much else) so who am I to say?

You can almost hear the "You rang?" when Lisa shows up after Richard's assessment. We immediately see what she's been doing in the past six months - getting a style makeover, apparently. Too bad this worked a lot better for Clay Aiken than it does for Lisa. She has cropped her hair super short, which really isn't much of an improvement to the old, greasy do. But I think it's Lisa's sourpuss face that really kills the look...and short hair just lets you see the face more clearly.

But no time to share hair style tips, because here comes Padma with the Quickfire. She introduces a Colicchio look-alike named Wilo Benet, whom Richard ID's as the chef who best embodies Puerto Rican cuisine. I think that means he cooks it well, not that he eats a lot of it.

The challenge is to make frituras, a fritter which is popular on Puerto Rican beaches (I'm guessing it's their version of Macks Pizza....but I digress). They're also told they must use plantains in each of the two dishes they make. Stephanie makes tostones with tuna and a pork and shrimp fritter with brown butter (that sounds really good, though I'm not sure about wanting plantain in it). Richard also uses pork, making a pork meatball with plantain sauce and green plantain chips with a plantain salsa. (Methinks Richard overdid it a bit on the plantain front.) Antonia offers us crisp oysters with plantain jam and a fried plantain with spicy slaw. Lisa also went with tostones, hers with pan-roasted duck and mango salsa as well as a plantain and onion fritter. (I think I just rubbed the "n" off my keyboard writing 'plantain' so many times.)

In the end, Steph gets the win, while Richard and Antonia end up in the bottom. Of course, there's no immunity at stake, but Steph is promised an advantage in the next challenge, which will take place after they attend a welcome party.

And if you think Porky Pig will be a special guest, you're on the right track.....That's all, folks! See ya in part 2.

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