Top Chef: Colorado episode 5 review: The big chill
Are we a little annoyed that this took almost as long to reveal the result here as the last episode of Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen overall? Sure, given that we didn’t learn until about 14 minutes in that BOTH Claudette and Lee Anne are going to be coming back! (We’re a little bummed that there was no Kwame, given that he remains one of our favorite chefs in the history of the show.)
Following the big reveal that Lee Anne and Claudette are back, they’re getting thrown right into the fire. The remaining chefs are being tasked with going camping out in Estes Park. Beyond that, they have to figure out a way in which to cook a winning dish out in the middle of the woods. Luckily, they are getting to cook to some local cuisine and won’t have to forage. They were able to do a little bit of grocery shopping and get whatever supplies they needed, but then after that they were firmly sent on their way.
We have to say — we loved this challenge. Visually it was really cool (pun intended), and it presented a great scene of what camping in Colorado is really like. There were also many funny moments, including our current favorite Chris Scott singing at the campfire while also working on a chili well into the night. Everyone woke up a good seven or so hours before service, realizing that they had their work cut out for them trying to impress the judges using limited resources.
Let’s start off our critique on this challenge by saying this: It’s hard to be upset over what anyone did here. This was hard, serious work, and somehow people like Adrienne and Lee Anne managed to present some really beautiful, tasty food. We give Tu a lot of credit especially for trying to do rabbit three different ways even though doing rabbit one way was tough enough. The moment he took this big of a swing, it was pretty predictable that he was going to be in danger.
Judges’ table
Hey, Bruce is on the comeback! After his fellow “bear” Tyler went home last week the man delivered with a really inventive, inspiring pasta dish that had a great sauce at the core of it. He got plenty of love, but unfortunately the meat in Chris’ chili dried out and Tu was, predictably, in danger with Tanya.
Here is the weak part of Top Chef tonight: How easy it was to see this elimination coming. The edit plus Tu’s history made the end result tonight rather clear about halfway through the hour. We like what Tu was trying! He wanted to impress the chefs; he just went a little bit crazy in the process.
What did you think about Top Chef: Colorado episode 5? Be sure to share in the comments below!
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