‘Top Chef: New Orleans’ preview: The test to make the perfect gumbo

Who doesn’t love gumbo? If you live in New Orleans, this is more than just a food; it’s a way of life and a staple of your history. If you’re not hungry after watching the promo below for tonight’s new episode, you must’ve just ate.

The challenge that the chefs are working on is something that, at least in theory, seems pretty simple: Try to find a way to craft a gumbo that represents you as a chef. Then, you have to remember that this is not an easy dish to make, and make properly. Do you remember some of those past “Top Chef” challenges that virtually require the chefs to pull all-nighters in order to get done what they need to? This is going to be what we’re looking at here, as well. There are not going to be too many people who go into judging with a clear head and focused on what the judges are saying. They will be too busy doing impersonations of “The Walking Dead.”

From our vantage point, there are two substantial challenges that come with a task like this:

1. You have to try and make sure that the ingredients that you put into the dish make sense. There is one person in the promo below that makes us do a double-take when we find out what they are actually trying to put into their gumbo.

2. As Justin Devillier is doing with his dish, you run a huge risk doing something traditional here. If the judges are hoping for a unique gumbo, you’re screwed. But, he is a New Orleans chef, and therefore there is really nothing else that he can do.

Do you like the idea of a gumbo challenge, and what in your mind would be the ideal way to make it? Share some of your thoughts below, and click here if you want to read some more “Top Chef: New Orleans” scoop.

Photo: Bravo