Three chefs remained at the beginning last night’s episode of Top Chef All-Stars and

The Quickfire was an interesting twist on Top Chef challenge twists: each chef choose the other’s challenge (i.e.: one-pot meal, canned food, etc.), then chose the second round of twists which were revealed halfway through the challenge (cook with one arm, use no utensils, etc.). Was anyone else as confused as I was? Anyway, they all ended up finishing on time, Carla made a guest appearance, they were judged by Wolfgang Puck and then Jersey Mike won the challenge.

As for the Elimination, the chefs had to each cook the requested last meal of a famous chef/guest judge, and the lineup included: Wolfgang Puck, Morimoto and Michelle Bernstein. Since Mike won the Quickfire, he got to choose who Blais and Antonia would be cooking for. Mike chose Bernstein for himself, who wanted fried chicken and biscuits; Blais got Puck, who wanted goulash, spaetzle, and apple shtrooodulll; and Antonia had to cook Morimoto’s requested meal of miso soup, pickled mushrooms and sashimi.
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During last night’s episode Top Chef All-Stars we learned a lot about the five remaining chefs, their genealogy and how to whip up a junk food treat whilst on a moving vessel.

The Quickfire Challenge was to make a dish using snack food found in the Ellis Island Ferry’s snack bar. And who better to judge this challenge than the Exec Chef of Blue Hill Farm in New York, Dan Barber? You know, the guy who is all about utilizing fresh, local food? Yeah, doesn’t make sense. Which is why Carla’s “rosemary-infused” orange salad thing won. Yes, it looked a heckuva lot more appetizing than Mike’s vomit soup, but c’mon, it was just a peeled orange with carrot juice and canned papaya. Blais’ hot dog bahn mi was so much more innovative! If anyone else had judged this challenge, I bet Richie would’ve won.

When they got to Ellis Island, they were greeted by either their spouse or their mother. The chefs were then given a rundown on their family tree and genealogy, and asked to create a dish based on their heritage. Apparently, Mike and Antonia are distant cousins, their family trees both branching from the same area in Italy. That explains so much, like their unspoken passion for one another. (Okay, I’m just making stuff up now for my own amusement.)

Now, while this was a cool idea for a challenge, they barely focused on the food and mainly showed the chefs talking about their families. While this let us more into their personal lives, it made it hard for us as the viewers to judge the dishes, as we didn’t get to see as much going on backstage in the kitchen as we usually do. There was definitely more drama and tears at the dinner table than in the back of house this week — heartfelt drama and bittersweet tears, that is.
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On tonight’s episode of Top Chef: All-Stars, The five remaining chef’testants find themselves on a boat (again) for their Quickfire Challenge and must cook for family members for the Elimination. I have to say that I’m excited about tonight’s challenges, as A. they’re utilizing their surroundings in NYC, and B. we get to learn a little more about the chefs’ backgrounds.

The Quickfire tonight takes place on the Ellis Island Ferry and is reminiscent of the snack machine and quickie mart challenges of seasons past, as the chefs have to create a dish using only the food items available to them in the snack bar. Also, they’re unsure of their time limit– starting and stopping when the ferry horn blows — and have no countdown clock to refer to.

When they arrive at Ellis Island, they’re greeted by family members and are asked to create a dish based on their family heritage. I’m hoping that Blais has a mad scientist in his family tree, thus explaining his frequent use of molecular gastronomy.

Preview video highlights:
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