CityZen Pastry Chef Matthew Petersen (Image: Bravo TV)
[Warning: this post does contain spoilers for those who care.]
In a Nut Shell: A Recap
Season 2 of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Just Desserts premiered Wednesday, and proud Arlingtonian pastry chef Matthew Petersen kicked butt (no surprise). The show opened with pop (as opposed to a bang): the Quickfire Challenge required the pastry chefs to create a modern take on a soda fountain treat.
In this round (in which contestants compete for immunity), Petersen fell in the middle of the pack. Judge (Who’s) Johnny Iuzzini, looking slightly less rockabilly this season, signaled disappointment that there was nothing else on the bottom of the chocolate Brooklyn egg cream with lemon floating island that Petersen and his partner presented. However, Petersen’s sin was not as grievous as an Elvis-inspired dullard of a dessert and a dispirted (looking) banana split proffered by two other duos.
As for the former, Johnny made a good point . . . obviously, you don’t want to present anything but the most well-conceived Elvis tribute to someone whose personal style is a nod to the King. Lina and Craig’s almond crispies, raspberry sauce and butter pecan ice cream incorporated bananas; other than that, I’m not sure how Elvis was in the building. Not enough to impress Presley or Iuzzini.
And the latter dessert? Besides the obvious point that, well, a banana split has kind of been done, a serious pastry offense was committed. Sitting right on top of that dessert was . . . gasp. . . a vanilla bean. Otherwise known as an NFG or nonfunctional garnish. It was pretty much drilled into us from day one in pastry school that this a no-no. If you can’t consume it, don’t use it. (Shout out to Chef Maas for this piece of wisdom.)
The verdict? Amanda and Nelson’s chocolate sponge cake, pickled cherries and pistachios won the day. As a spumoni fan, this flavor combination had my heart racing.
Round two’s Elimination Challenge was someone’s idea of a fairy tale come true; namely, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Hansel & Gretel. If you think these stories are universally loved and known, this episode proves you wrong. Surprisingly, there were a number of chefs who struggled with the basic storylines; and it showed in some of the choices made in composing the required showpieces with the accompanying themed desserts. And just like fairy tales, there were dark undercurrents–”incidents and accidents, there were hints and allegations.”
Case in point, the Jack and the Bean Stalk ladies were unfortunately saddled with Craig, whose voice sounds like he permanently swallowed helium (or at the very least like the cute little neighbor kid Bo from Season 1 of Friday Night Lights . . . it just doesn’t sound so cute coming from a 25-year -old.) The “immature” contestant left his teammates scrambling to assemble their sugar showpiece in the eleventh hour. Their work was stunning, but only in one dimension (the back revealed a series of disguised breaks and cracks occasioned by the circumstance).
The judges issued their verdicts while dressed in ridiculous fairy tale-themed costumes. (Gail Simmons was Little Red Riding Hood, not Johnny). Petersen’s Little Red team was riding high (its showpiece featured a striking figurine of the protagonist made from pulled and blown sugar; the desserts “raised the bar” with flavor and textural contrasts), and was ultimately declared the winner over team Goldilocks.
The unfortunate Jack and the Bean Stalk ensemble and team Hansel and Gretel were up for elimination. And then the obligatory throwing under the bus occurred. Melissa of Team H&G hated Lina’s cake house from the start. Admittedly, there was nothing tempting to a child about this house. Instead of a colorful and playful gingerbread, it looked more like a brown barn of doom. Or a pedophile’s lair.
And with that, Lina was the first to take her whisk and beat it (come on Gail, so much better than “pack your tools and go”).
Some Top Chef Just Desserts Vocab
It occurred to me as I watched this first TCJD episode that, while everyone loves dessert, the spin-off seems a little less accessible than TC savory. Could it be all the unfamiliar terminology? So here is a little Episode 1 vocabulary lesson that might help:
Bergamot (as in Katzie’s Elimination Challenge Bergamot Clouds with Whipped Lemon Ricotta and Sweet Pea Sorbet) is a pear-shaped orange that is highly valued for its essential oils (it is used in perfumes and candies). You’ll find its peel in Earl Grey tea. Katzie’s recipe featured Bergamot oil.
Bergamot Clouds (Image: Bravo TV)
Bomboloni . . . a fancy word for something we all love. This time, we are talking about the ultimate fried food, an Italian doughnut. Amanda Rockman’s Bomboloni was “rose scented” due to her rose-flavored meringue.
The île flottante or floating islands in Petersen’s chocolate Brooklyn egg cream are poached balls of meringue (egg whites and sugar). They look sort of like poached eggs, which might explain the alternative fancy French moniker oeufs a la niege (eggs in the snow).
Feiulletine sounds pretty high fallutin’ but don’t be intimidated: it is a rather simple ingredient. It is basically crushed biscuits that taste a little like really delicate (or rich people’s) corn flakes. If you combine feiulletine with pralinosa (a praline flavored paste that tastes like rich people’s nutella) and melted chocolate (or buy it pre-mixed), you can use it to add texture to a lot of desserts. Think Ferrero Rocher . . . In this episode, the feiulletine is employed in the ill-fated Quick Fire banana split.
Nougatine is a confection, traditionally made by combining almonds and a cooked sugar syrup. The mixture is rolled out while warm and can then be cut into different shapes. Petersen and his partner Carlos used cocoa nibs in place of nuts in their Red Riding Hood-themed Blackout Sponge Cake, Cocoa Nib Nougatine, Poached Cherries, and Micro Basil.
Blackout Sponge Cake (Image: Bravo TV)
For more on Petersen’s TCJD experience, including his position on the use of recipes during the competition, check out this informative Q&A with the Post’s Tim Carman.
C’est tout for now. Happy Friday!
-Johnisha M. Levi