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Top Chef season 20 aired a brand new episode on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo. It documented the remaining contestants participating in a variety of challenges to create incredible dishes. They gave it their all to ensure their safety and avoid elimination. While some were successful in doing so, others missed the mark.
On this week's episode of Top Chef, Buddha Lo (Houston), Gabriel Rodriguez (Mexico), and Sara Bradley (Kentucky) advanced to the finals after winning multiple challenges. Ali Al Ghzawi (Middle East and North Africa) was eliminated ahead of the finale episode. The 3 finalists are only one cook away to win the coveted title.
The hit Bravo series has been successful over the past couple of years. It has established itself to be one of the most popular reality competitions on television. Season 20 of the show saw contestants from various Top Chef franchises from all over the world competing against each other in order to take a second shot at the title.
What transpired on this week's episode of Top Chef season 20?
The four finalists were welcomed by host Padma Lakshmi to Paris and together they sipped champagne in front of the Eiffel Tower while reflecting on their journey. All they had to do in the episode was work through a couple of challenges and make theri way into the finals. However, it was way harder than it seemed.
The official synopsis of the Top Chef episode, titled Champions in Paris, reads as:
"The final four land in Paris, the culinary capital of the world and home of the 2024 Olympics, where they compete in the infamous Wall Challenge; their partners are U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes."
For the final Quickfire Challenge on Top Chef season 20, the finalists were paired with renowned Olympians and Paralympians in the infamous Wall Challenge. Each pair was separated by a wall. The chefs had to guide the athletes with the ingredients and measurements to ensure their dishes looked and tasted the same.
Check out how the pairs were made in the episode.
- Gabriel Rodriguez and Sunisa "Suni" Lee (Tokyo Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist Gymnastics)
- Buddha Lo and Hunter Woodhall (3-time Paralympic Medalist Track & Field)
- Ali Al Ghzawi and Mallory Weggemann (5-time Paralympic Medalist Swimming)
- Sara Bradley and Sydney McLaughlin-Levorne (2-time Olympic Gold Medalist Track & Field)
The Top Chef finalists had a fair share of troubles with communication and cooking the food. The athletes struggled to cook because of the hindrance of the wall. Some burnt the sauce, others had a difficult time recognizing the ingredients. However, it definitely was an interesting watch for viewers.
By the end of the challenge, Ali and Mallory won the Quickfire because of their coordination. Ali guided her to use the exact measurement of cups and spoons and create identical dishes. The chef won $10,000 to fly anywhere in the world on Delta airlines.
For the elimination challenge on Top Chef, the finalists had to create a Michelin-star dish using the button mushroom. They had to serve Michelin-starred chefs on the boat of 21-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse. The chefs shopped for ingredients and took inspiration from a family who had been growing the ingredient for three generations.
While working on the boat, they also received a surprise visit from Alain Ducasse himself. The contestants gave it their all in the cook and used a variety of different techniques to impress the judges and guest chefs.
Here's how each Top Chef contestant fared in the elimination challenge:
1) Buddha - He presented his dish "champignons de Paris en croute, chicken farce, mushroom puree, and pommes puree" to the judges. The judges loved his dish and felt it was classy and full of flavor.
2) Ali - He presented "mushroom steak, mushroom croquette with za’atar and goat cheese, mushroom jus, and pickled mushrooms." While the judges complimented him for respecting the ingredient, they felt that he could have added more ingredients to compliment the flavor.
3) Sara - She presented "mushrooms, beef leg marmalade, pears and pickled mushrooms. The Top Chef judges loved her dish and felt like it bode well with the Paris air. They termed her soup classy and in tune with a Michelin-star restaurant.
4) Gabri - He presented "potato nest, chile morita champignons de Paris puree, shiitake broth, and cured egg yolk." The judges absolutely loved his dish, with one guest chef even offering to come to work for them. They, however, critiqued him for not getting the mushroom flavor through.
By the end of the Top Chef episode, they decided to eliminate Ali from the competition. Buddha, Sara, and Gabri advanced to the finale.
Season 20 of Top Chef has aired an extremely intense but interesting episode this week. With the series nearing its end, the three finals will take their last cook head-on and cook dishes with all their heart to stand a chance at winning the competition. Viewers will have to wait and see who is crowned the winner.
Don't forget to tune in to a brand new episode next Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
