This was the final episode of Chopped All Stars before the much-anticipated finale and fans are anxiously waiting to see who will take home top prize. So far the competitors going on to the final battle are Michael Symon, Jeffrey Saad, and Penny Davidi. This episode had the judges of Chopped locked in battle. The contestants today were Chris Santos, Marc Murphy, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Marcus Samuelsson.
The judges for this episode were Arron Sanches, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Amanda Freitag. The judging would take place in three courses: appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Each round is timed. The judges award points for presentation, taste, and creativity and each round has four secret ingredients that must be incorporated into a dish. The winner of this episode would go on to a Finale where they will have the chance to win $50,000 for a charity of their choice.
Appetizer Round
The secret ingredients for this round were potato pancakes, purple kohlrabi, Korean melon, and goat brains. It was a very close battle, but chef Chris Santos was eliminated for not repurposing his potato pancakes enough.
Entrée Round
The secret ingredients for this round were rack of Berkshire pork, kusa, grape molasses, and preserved duck eggs. Kusa is a squash that is very similar to zucchini. More interesting is the preserved duck eggs. They are eggs that are preserved in clay, ash, salt and lime for a period of weeks. They have sulfurous/ammonia flavor that is very unique and many people consider it disgusting. Chef Marc Murphy was eliminated for a messy plate. This shows just how close the competition is that the judging gets based on the plating.
Dessert Round
The secret ingredients for this round were cake flour, farmer’s cheese, baby beets, and cola. Farmer’s cheese is an unripened cheese with a mild, buttery flavor. Chef Marcus Samuelsson created cheese in two ways. Chef Alex Guarnaschelli made a blueberry tarragon tart.
The winner for this episode of Chopped All Stars was Chef Marcus Samuelsson. The judges appreciated his use of his native Scandinavian cuisine. We will see all the winners again next week for the final battle for the Chopped All Stars Finale.
