Who is Dale MacKay? Canadian chef gets eliminated for a second time on Top Chef season 20

Popular reality cooking competition Top Chef Season 20 aired a brand new episode on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo. It documented the remaining contestants participating in a variety of challenges and doing their best to prove their mettle in front of the judges and create delicious dishes to secure their safety in the competition.

On this week's episode of Top Chef (All-Stars), Dale MacKay, the winner of Top Chef Canada, failed to impress the judges in the team challenge and was asked to pack his knives after the final challenge. However, it was Dale's second elimination this season after he'd recently redeemed himself in Last Chance Kitchen and returned to the competition.

The hit Bravo series is hosted by Padma Lakshmi, along with judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons for the 20th season. This time around, the series documented an All-Stars season and saw a number of contestants from different Top Chef franchises from all over the world. Viewers witnessed a lot of talent and creativity throughout the season.

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More about Dale and his performance this week on Top Chef

Dale MacKay was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. From a young age, the Top Chef contestant wanted to be part of the kitchen. Throughout his culinary career, the chef worked in the kitchens of legendary chefs, including Daniel Bouloud and Gordon Ramsay. He was also crowned the winner of Top Chef Canada season 1.

Over the past decade, Dale has opened five award-winning restaurants in Saskatchewan along with business partner Christopher Cho under Grassroots Restaurant Group. Their restaurants feature a variety of cuisines. The contestant has also appeared on other cooking shows, including Iron Chef Gauntlet, Fire Masters, and Wall of Chefs.

For the Quickfire challenge, the contestants were greeted by guest judge, chef and food rebel Gaggan Anand. The chefs had to cook a dish inspired by one of the emojis out of the huge stack that was in front of them. Dale picked the heart emoji and decided to make chicken soup inspired by his mother's version of the same.

However, the judges weren't impressed as the soup wasn't as special as it needed to be for the caliber of the competition. He also found himself with low marks and a potential of going home.

For the elimination challenge, the chefs tasted Gaggan's dish, which was a world map in different colors made with dried flowers and fruits. It was representative of the LGBTQ community. However, the chefs couldn't use their hands or spoons, knives, or forks, and only lick the dish off the plate.

The Top Chef contestants had to create a dish that sends a message and also one that could be eaten without the use of utensils. Dale decided to make a mole to compliment his chicken but noted that he didn't have enough experience with the same, so it was a big risk.

This risk, however, landed him in hot water with the judges. His message was that he overcame the cultural significance of cooking the mole and that chefs should never be ignorant when it comes to cooking. The judges felt it was a little complicated. Moreover, the chicken turned out to be "flabby, floppy, and bland."

By the end of the episode, the judges eliminated Dale from the competition. Ahead of his exit, he said:

“I’m going home again. Two-time loser. Feels terrible... But given that I was cooking with some of the best chefs in the world, anyone should go home with your head held high. So I’m going to keep fighting and hopefully I’ll slide my way into the finale and ride off with that win."

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Season 20 of Top Chef is getting interesting with each passing episode. As the installment progresses, contestants will participate in even tougher challenges that will test their culinary abilities and push them to their best. Viewers will have to tune in to find out who takes it all the way to the end.

Don't forget to tune in to a brand new episode of Top Chef next Thursday, April 27, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo.