First impressions? There’s a woman named Shirley from Beijing who has worked for some top chefs (no pun intended) and seems to have that special reality show combination of killer instinct and bubbly chatterboxery, so I already like her and think she’s going to be around for a while. There are also quite a few Michelin stars, and Stephanie, a loser from Top Chef Seattle, which means she’s got some experience with challenges.

Padma and Tom wander into the house with the first Elimination Challenge—prepare a dish highlighting a local delicacy in the heart of the Louisiana swamp using either alligator or turtle.

The first day in the kitchen is a little…chaotic. Stove fires, slips, spills, rushing through the whole frog leg cleaning thing, it’s disorganized and frenetic. Very few of the chefs have worked with these ingredients before, especially turtle, so uncertainty rules the day. There’s turtle curry, several confit preparations, and a chef cuts himself just as Tom enters the kitchen. Carrie is afraid of Tom so she’s hiding underneath a stove, and Sarah tells Tom about cooking in airports. For Wolfgang Puck, but still. Airport food.

The next morning, Emeril stops by to hand out beignets. When the chefs arrive at the swamp, they realize that they first have to set up the tables and cook stations, which are just two burners, before they can start prepping their food. Chopping, simmering, slicing, and the sun is going down as the guests start arriving. Did you know that Padma is known as The Swamp Queen even though this is her first soiree in a swamp? Essentially, she just enters a room and the other guests make her their queen. Anyway, back to the challenge.

Bene made a very colorful turtle croquette with cauliflower puree and shitake mushrooms. Nina from St. Lucia prepared a curried turtle meatball, chayote slaw and chutney with raisins. Janine with the long legs and short-shorts cooked up a bacon and alligator confit with tomato jam and lemon frisée. She said “confited it in duck fat” so she’s okay with me. Aaron made a duo of turtle, with picked eggplant turtle confit and turtle ragout with tagliatelle pasta, and it looks like two different turtles vomited on the plate simultaneously and then switched places for the clean-up. Shirley prepare a turtle soup with goji berry and Chinese broth and confesses to stealing the recipe from her mother-in-law.

Carrie poached her frog legs with oyster emulsion and cold zucchini salad. Carlos made alligator rillettes with fennel and pickled red onion relish. Michael fried his alligator with sauce piquant and slaw. Sara Johannes made “unapologetically spicy” deep fried alligator with smoked chilis, sweet and sour sauce and pickled vegetables. It elicits a “holy shit that’s hot!” from Padma, which is something she is used to hearing more than saying. Ramon braised turtle with Thai dashi. Patty made Cajun style alligator with yucca purée and is worried that her alligator might be a little tough. Jason prepared frog leg croquette with roasted eggplant, fennel salad and pickled cherry purée, and Tom chastises him for barely featuring the frog legs. Stephanie made frog leg butter confit with spinach and watercress purée.

Because it’s New Orleans, the chef with the most beads wins. At the end fo the evening, some chefs have tons of beads and others have, like two. Then, the chefs get to watch the judges talk about them on a television. Shirley and Janine are getting top marks, and then we get to the least favorite. Aaron, Patty, and Carlos disappointed the judges, and Ramon’s Thai flavor wasn’t exactly delicious. Carrie, Nina, and Sara get called to Judge’s Table first because they had the top dishes. Carrie’s cold frog leg surprised and impressed the judges and the guests, but Nina wins the challenge with her curried turtle meatball.

Then it’s time for Aaron, Patty, and Ramon to face the judges. Padma asks Aaron “where you think you went wrong?” when we all know that he went wrong the second he decided to make homemade pasta in a swamp. Ramon’s dashi was bland because he added ice to the base to cool it down. Patty explains that her roulette failed and turned into mashed alligator on a plate. Ramon is eliminated for tossing ice in his dashi. He will now compete in Last Chance Kitchen which nobody ever watches, so goodbye, Ramon.

Photos: bravotv.com

Reprinted from healthywaytocook.com