‘Top Chef: New Orleans’ preview: Who stole Shirley Chung’s beets?

What's next? -Do you feel that? It’s the ghost of the pea puree from “Top Chef” season 7 re-entering your brain. To this point, that was the biggest incident in the history of the show of there being someone accusing others of thievery, and it ended up being something that was just a grave misunderstanding, based on what we know about the incident. (Yet, somehow, Alex still gets this terrible reputation for something that he didn’t do in the first place.)

The video preview for Wednesday night’s “Top Chef: New Orleans” episode brings back the “who stole the ingredient?” mystery, but this time in the form of Shirley Chung and some yellow beets that she claims were stored away in the pot. We’re about 95% sure that the word “sabotage” is going to be uttered here at some point, but take off the conspiracy cap! These are professional chefs that we’re talking about here, so are they really going to try and compromise their integrity and their career just to take some woman’s beets? Someone probably just snatched them up on accident, and since the cameras (which can’t be everywhere at the same time) failed to pick it up, we have a mystery on our hands.

The good news for Shirley is that we have a feeling it’s not going to hurt her too bad in the long run. Bret’s got a problem with his veal chop not getting the grill that he wanted on it, and given that this guy was in danger last week, and has openly admitted to not having the same level of recent experience as some of the others chefs, he’s in the biggest danger to pack his knives and GTFO. (If the show actually said that, it would be infinitely more entertaining.)

But we have to be honest here and say that we love it when there are little mysteries that surface in the kitchen. It amps up the drama of the show, and when you remember that these are professional chefs who are none too keen to embarrass themselves, they sometimes need a little kick to get dramatic.

We’re still waiting for that first “Last Chance Kitchen” episode to arrive, but you can click here if you want to take a closer look at what happened on Wednesday night’s edition of the show.

Photo: Bravo

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!