Last night was the premier episode for Top Chef Masters 2012 season 4. The contestants are all master chefs who are well known in the industry. They are all competing for different charities and none of them will be personally taking home any money for winning. The host of this season is Curtis Stone and there are four critics that will help judge: James Oseland, Ruth Reichl, Krista Simmons, and Francis Lam. This season of Top Chef Masters takes place in Las Vegas.
The Contestants
- Art Smith
- Chris Consentino
- Clark Fraiser
- Debbie Gold
- Kerry Heffernan
- Lorena Garcia
- Mark Gaier
- Missy Robbins
- Patricia Yeo
- Sue Torres
- Takashi Yagihashi
- Thierry Rautureau
Quickfire Challenge
The Quickfire Challenge this week had the chefs in pairs competing for $10,000 split between the two of them for their charities. Curtis Stone used the Las Vegas theme and dealt out cards to the pairs to determine what they would be cooking together. It could have been a gross mix, but they ended up working with very complimentary pairs such as peach and duck. The chefs would be cooking for three professional card dealers from the famous Las Vegas hotels. The winners of this round were Chris Cosentino and Patricia Yeo.
Elimination Challenge
The main challenge this week had the chefs working in two teams to create a buffet for street performers. The two teams went to Whole Foods to shop for ingredients without really knowing the theme of the challenge. That was kept a secret until later. Curtis Stone surprised them at the store with scratch lotto tickets to make shopping more interesting. As the chefs scratched the cards they were awarded time, money, or penalties. Debbie Gold was the extra lucky one as she won immunity for the episode.
After the shopping was done the teams were told they had to be either Mexican or Indian. They had the option of sending one person back to exchange ingredients to better fit the theme. As the chefs got started prepping the ingredients, Missy Robbins seriously injured herself by cutting off the tip of her finger. She was rushed to the hospital where she was told she needs a graft and surgery. She is out of the competition for this injury.
The Blue Team who cooked Indian food was on the bottom and was up for elimination. Debbie Gold, Takashi Yagihashi, and Sue Torres were on the bottom. Sue was eliminated and had to pack her knives.
What do you think of this season of Top Chef Masters?
