- 6 weeks ago
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00:00This program is rated PG and contains mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
00:12Previously on Top Chef Canada.
00:14After all these years watching it, dreaming about it, the reality kicks in.
00:18I'm actually on Top Chef Canada.
00:20Season 12, baby!
00:23Yeah!
00:24Alex is setting the bar really high. Feels in your perfect dish.
00:27Want to try it?
00:28Charlotte's dish. Had a lot going on on the plate.
00:32Strip it back and make it more sophisticated.
00:38Alex, as the winner, you earned an immunity that can be used once in the next three elimination challenges.
00:45Nick, Charlotte, and Tracy, you had our least favorite dishes.
00:50They could have done better.
00:52Nick, please pack your knives and go.
00:54Now, nine chefs remain to battle it out for $10,000, courtesy of Ninja.
01:04DoorDash delivery for a year.
01:06$10,000 from Premier Protein.
01:09The redesigned Volkswagen Tiguan.
01:12$100,000, courtesy of McCain French Fries.
01:16And the title of Canada's Top Chef.
01:19Whoop.
01:20I'm Chris Freeland.
01:20Another unmute.
01:21The internet eminent alkali.
01:21I'm Chris Freeland.
01:22And the founder and fan Sensato.
01:22I'm Chris Freeland.
01:23Whoopin'.
01:23Whoopin'.
01:24How's the movie...
01:24Joe Flyrecord.
01:25I'm Chris Freeland.
01:25are you in it.
01:38Where one you're Mommy.
01:41You're the involved ...
01:41Why'sorb então?
01:43Not such an unfortunate leva.
01:43It's over joy and it's up for 10 years.
01:44We're about to 25 cents...
01:47To benefit world.
01:47Not such an honor of morality and it's over.
01:49Coffee time, anyone?
02:02Please, I'll take a double espresso.
02:05Big immunity win last night.
02:07How did that feel?
02:08I feel more relieved.
02:09After winning the first challenge, definitely I'm under the spotlight.
02:13Other chefs are looking at me, calling me top dog.
02:16But even if I have the special immunity, I don't want to rely on that at all.
02:20I'm just relying on my skills.
02:22You've set the bar very high, sir.
02:26For me, being on the bottom, my confidence definitely feels a bit deflated.
02:32It felt like a punch in the face.
02:34I am competing for myself, but also for my daughter, Isla, who's nine months old.
02:40Leaving her, it was really hard.
02:43But I want to show my daughter what I'm capable of.
02:48I got a little shook after yesterday, but it'll be good.
02:51It'll be good.
02:52And I'm having a good fair day.
02:54Yeah, you are.
03:03Good morning, chefs.
03:06Morning.
03:07Good morning.
03:07I'm seeing pasta everywhere.
03:10There's tires.
03:11There's a car racing.
03:13Set up in the middle of the room.
03:15Pedal to the metal.
03:18Chefs, many things go into a Top Chef quality dish.
03:22Passion, creativity, culinary skills.
03:25But sometimes when you're in a rush, speed is king.
03:29In this challenge, you'll need to race to make a Top Chef quality pasta dish.
03:34In only 20 minutes.
03:37No.
03:39Okay.
03:40To find out which type of Barilla pasta you'll be cooking with, come and pick a tire.
03:46Chris, you're up first.
03:49Popper Dally.
03:51Cheyenne.
03:52Gluten-free spaghetti.
03:54Anthony, you're next.
03:57Ozo.
03:58Oh.
03:59Rigatoni.
04:01Chalantoni.
04:02Fafale.
04:03Ooh.
04:04Coctillier.
04:06Jamali.
04:08Vitali.
04:09Ooh.
04:11Well, I hope you're feeling revved up.
04:14Because today, you'll be cooking for someone whose track record speaks for itself.
04:19Please welcome the chef-owner of Montreal's Cabaret L'Enfer, Massimo Piedemonte.
04:25Woo!
04:26Woo!
04:27Woo!
04:28Chef Massimo is a really big deal in the chef community.
04:33Hello, chef.
04:34Hi, chef.
04:35Of course, I want to impress Massimo.
04:37That's my goal.
04:38Massimo, tell us, how passionate are you about pasta?
04:43So passionate.
04:45Growing up in Italian households, we had pasta in every meal.
04:48We want a perfectly cooked pasta, right?
04:51Al dente.
04:52Al dente doesn't mean undercooked pasta, but it does mean chewy, crocante sotto la dente.
04:57And, of course, a delicious sauce.
05:00Saucy sexiness.
05:01Saucy sexiness.
05:02Saucy sexiness heard.
05:04Well, chefs, there is just one more thing.
05:07This wouldn't be a real race without a pit stop.
05:10In order for your dishes to qualify for this challenge, you must each complete our lasagna pit stop.
05:18When the pit lane is open, one at a time, you'll need to box, box, box.
05:23And arrange two layers of Barilla oven-ready lasagna.
05:28And you're going to want to reach the podium for this quickfire.
05:31Because the chef with the best dish will win $5,000 towards a trip to Italy.
05:38Courtesy of Barilla.
05:39Ooh.
05:41Yes.
05:41Yeah.
05:42Good luck, chefs.
05:43On your marks, get set.
05:48Go!
05:50Let's go!
05:51Be honest.
05:52Basil, basil, basil, basil.
05:54All right.
05:5520 minutes, it's like, what can you do?
05:57You boil water for pasta?
05:58It's crazy.
05:59Okay.
06:01I just got to try to keep speedy.
06:03My noodle today is pappardelli.
06:04My first thought goes to, like, a ragu.
06:06But 20 minutes, that's, like, not going to happen.
06:09I'm just going to blend the tomatoes into a vinaigrette.
06:12Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
06:14I got conchelle, so I got to do something, seafood with the shells.
06:18So I got clams, bacon, shallots, and chives.
06:22Can't miss the white wine.
06:24Ah!
06:25For my dish, I need to use the orzo.
06:27Orzo looks a bit like rice, so I get inspired to do, like,
06:31style of risotto.
06:32But the most important thing in a plate is actually the sauce.
06:36I need to win this challenge because I need to prove to Massimo what I can do in this plate.
06:40I'm making a hunter-inspired bolognese with my rigatoni.
06:43I'm working on a little punta nesca with some canned sardines as a base.
06:47Let us pray.
06:48All right, and the pit lane is open.
06:52Box, box, box, Charlotte.
06:54All right.
06:56The vibe in the kitchen is complete insanity.
06:58This is fun.
06:59Okay, meat sauce in, switch in.
07:01On top of only having 20 minutes, you got to do this pit stop.
07:05Box, box, box.
07:08Cheyenne is fast.
07:10My heart is racing.
07:11Guinness World Record.
07:13All right.
07:14Time, time, time.
07:15Ten minutes left, chef.
07:17Ten minutes.
07:18This is no joke.
07:19This is, like, the fastest 20 minutes of their lives.
07:23So my dish is a plate on carbonara with jameli pasta.
07:27All the other chefs might be going towards something traditional,
07:31but I'm doing something with Cantonese Chinese flavors.
07:36I'm substituting the guanciale with lap chang, Chinese sausage.
07:40Let's go.
07:40And for my sauce, I'm using fermented bean curd, which is a soybean tofu product to emulate the flavors of cheese.
07:49Tasting like how I want it to be.
07:51That's great, chef.
07:52And you?
07:53This tastes like fear and anxiety all at the same time.
07:56Oh, yeah.
07:56But delicious.
07:59Woo!
08:00My noodle is detalle.
08:01I'm going to do four different textures of parmigiano-reggiano.
08:05I have freshly shaved as Buma, emulsion, and crispy chips.
08:10This is a dish that I tried in Italy.
08:13It was a trip with my wife and my dog, Candy.
08:17Hot behind.
08:18Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
08:19Wow.
08:19Yes, exactly.
08:20Get in on there.
08:21Take care.
08:22All right, chefs.
08:23Five minutes.
08:24Five minutes.
08:25Five minutes.
08:25Woo!
08:26Oh, my God.
08:27This is, like, 500 pounds.
08:29There you go.
08:30Goodbye.
08:30See you in a bit.
08:31I'm going to be right down to the wire.
08:33Realize I didn't blanch enough pasta at first.
08:35Is there anybody who's not cooking pasta yet?
08:38I noticed a pot of boiling water on the stove.
08:41I don't see anyone using it.
08:42Throw my pasta in it.
08:44Let's go.
08:46This is the pasta.
08:47I always need to cook my pasta, of course,
08:49so I wait, like, at five minutes of the end.
08:52Oh, f***.
08:53But I don't have any boiling water.
08:55You have a boiling water empty?
08:57No.
08:58F*** no.
08:58You finished with the pasta, not too far.
09:00I'm eating time with your pasta.
09:01Do you have a boiling water?
09:02I realize I took Anthony's boiling water,
09:05and it's my fault.
09:07Chef, there's water right here.
09:08Go for it.
09:09Boiling water?
09:10Please, I need it.
09:10Yeah, go.
09:12I cannot cook my pasta with the time that I need.
09:16This is going to be tight.
09:17I feel like I want 30 seconds for this to stew in the sauce,
09:21but it's not going to happen, so I got to go.
09:23Okay.
09:23Everyone should be plating.
09:26Oh, they're hot.
09:28One minute.
09:29One minute.
09:29One minute heard.
09:31I'm eating the Parmesan chip.
09:33Final push, guys.
09:34Final push.
09:34They want saucy, I got the sauce.
09:36Five, four, three, two, one.
09:40Hands up, knife down.
09:43Wow.
09:44Good job.
09:44Woo!
09:45That was fun.
09:47It's not cooked, man.
09:48I had no f***ing boiling water, man.
09:51There was nine putts.
09:52Who took two?
09:53Chris.
09:53This is so bad to me to serve some almost raw cooked pasta.
09:59To Massimo, one of the chefs that I love a lot in Quebec.
10:04People are going to say to Michelin star,
10:06Chef, don't know how to cook pasta.
10:08Wait a minute.
10:13Wait a minute.
10:17Judges.
10:17Hi, Chef.
10:18Hi, Chris.
10:19I made an uncooked tomato sauce, so I blended the raw heirloom tomatoes with some olive oil
10:23and balsamic, and then spicy Italian sausage.
10:26Listen, 20 minutes, we got so much flavor in the sauce.
10:30This is what you want from a saucy...
10:32When you said saucy and sexy, I just added one more S with the spicy, you know?
10:39The pasta is very moist.
10:40Maybe a touch overcooked, but a solid dish.
10:43Thank you, Judges.
10:44Bye, Chef.
10:44Bye, Chef.
10:46So, in front of you, this is like an orzo with some basil, some oregano, some spinach for
10:51the color.
10:52The texture of a little problem at the end, so sorry about that.
10:56Sorry about what?
10:56About the texture of the plate.
10:58About everything.
10:59I'm not happy.
11:00Sorry.
11:04The texture is not a problem.
11:06I think missing maybe a touch of salt.
11:08Yep.
11:08There's a lot going on, flavor-wise, and it's in a good way.
11:11Thank you, Chef.
11:12Hi, Tracy.
11:14Hello.
11:14So, I have a rigatoni.
11:16I went a hunter-style with guanciale, added some ground elk meat, and then finished it
11:21off with gouda, which is my favorite cheese.
11:24The elk and the gouda and everything.
11:25You took a classic dish, and you made it Canadian and unrecognizably delicious.
11:30Pasta's cooked really well, and I like that it has just that kind of unique spin to it.
11:34Thank you, Chef.
11:34Cheers.
11:35Hi, Alex.
11:35Hello, Judges.
11:36So, my dish today, four different textures of aged Parmesan, fresh-shaped Parmesan, Parmesan
11:41chips, Parmesan espuma, and the Parmesan emulsion.
11:44Wow.
11:46I love all the cheese.
11:47It has that really salty Parmesan bite.
11:50Yeah, it's still very light.
11:51Mm-hmm.
11:52It gets really creative.
11:53I personally never had a pasta like this.
11:55Yeah, good job.
11:56Thank you, Alex.
11:58Hi, Holly.
11:59I have made a celentani with an heirloom tomato, garlic, and basil sauce.
12:06I love that you made a quick tomato sauce.
12:07You used heirloom yellow tomatoes, which are a bit sweet, they're more acidic.
12:10It's very nice.
12:11Tastes like sunshine.
12:13It does.
12:13It's really bright.
12:15Hi, Chef.
12:15Hi, Cheyenne.
12:16I got the gluten-free spaghetti.
12:19So, I made a mushroom hunter sauce, and then I did some crispy mushrooms.
12:24The thing about gluten-free pasta, very easy to overcook them.
12:26These, you actually managed to get them al dente.
12:29I think it's a little salty for me.
12:30Okay.
12:31Heard.
12:32Hello.
12:33It looks like puttanesca, but it's actually sardinesca.
12:38Oh.
12:39Sardines instead of anchovies?
12:40Yes.
12:41Fresh herbs on top, capers, in terms of olives.
12:43Very nice texture.
12:44Okay.
12:45Perfectly cooked.
12:46I really like the sardines in there.
12:48This feels like a solid lunch.
12:50Thank you, Chef.
12:51Thank you very much.
12:52Hi, Katie.
12:53Hi, Aiden.
12:53So, this is a take on, like, a carbonara.
12:56I took some Chinese lepcheng and rendered that down and made a sauce out of fermented bean curds.
13:04It should taste, like, a little sweet, funky, and hopefully creamy.
13:08Super funky.
13:09Yeah.
13:10Great funk.
13:11Yeah.
13:11It's so flavorful.
13:13Salty, sweet.
13:14Chef Bravo.
13:15Appreciate it.
13:16Hey, Colson.
13:17Hey, guys.
13:17So, I wanted to cook something in a shell.
13:20So, I had clams, double-smoked bacon, shallots, white wine, and that's it.
13:25Very well done.
13:26Very well executed.
13:27Brings me back to Sardinia.
13:28Sardinia.
13:29Perfect.
13:30The clams in there are delicious.
13:32Great job.
13:40Massimo, which three chefs had a podium finish today?
13:43All three were impressive dishes.
14:13But only one of them can take top spot.
14:17The chef with the winning dish is...
14:20Katie.
14:23Yeah!
14:24Woo!
14:25Good job.
14:26Congratulations.
14:27You won $5,000 towards a trip to Italy from Barilla.
14:32Let's go!
14:34I won!
14:36I'm going to take my mom to Italy.
14:38Who's ready for a staff meal?
14:40Wow.
14:40Woo!
14:41The first quick-fire challenge, I took the win.
14:44Wow.
14:46I'm going to remember that forever.
14:47I did a good little run, yeah.
14:49We did a great job, guys.
14:50The Top Chef Canada Small Appliances are brought to you in part by Ninja.
14:59The Top Chef Canada Small Appliances is a film festival designed to create a better understanding of indigenous peoples and cultures through indigenous-made films and arts for your next elimination challenge.
15:27We're going to be celebrating Imaginative's 25th anniversary.
15:31You'll be making dishes that honor the stories of indigenous ingredients and catering a party of Imaginative Festival VIPs.
15:39Ooh.
15:40I'm so excited.
15:42I'm going to cry.
15:43Aw.
15:44Sorry.
15:44Ten years ago, there was not a lot of indigenous representation in not only the culinary world, but in the art world, in the film world, and knowing that we're going to be surrounded with all of these amazing indigenous filmmakers feels like a dream.
16:03This is so exciting.
16:04To help you better understand the ingredients that you'll be working with, I've invited two very special guest judges.
16:11Please welcome Mohawk Nation chef, host of One Dish, One Spoon, Chef Tanya Brandt, and international indigenous culinary advocate, Chef Shane Chartrand.
16:24Welcome.
16:25Thank you, guys.
16:26These two indigenous chefs that are both Top Chef Canada alumni are full of information.
16:32I'm here to learn and take their advice.
16:35Tanya, why don't you tell us about some of the ingredients you brought and the stories they tell.
16:39So indigenous ingredients, almost all of them come from our creation stories.
16:43Those stories are there to remind us why they're important, how to take care of them, and how we live lightly on this earth.
16:49Chefs, to determine which ingredients you'll be highlighting in your dish, please come and pick a film canister.
16:55Chefs, to the Plains Cree indigenous people, it's a big part of our diet.
17:06The bison has the inside strength that we as indigenous people bring with us.
17:10It's called our spirit.
17:12So when the bison sees a storm, the bison will naturally run towards a storm on its own.
17:17That's the spirit of the bison.
17:19I think you have it.
17:22Anthony.
17:25Sunflower.
17:27Sunflowers for Haudenosaunee people come from our culture and it was actually the sun before we had a sun because we were originally known as a dark water world when we came here.
17:34I want to see that brightness.
17:36Make it sunny.
17:37I'm really happy.
17:38Holly.
17:39Hi, Chef.
17:42Strawberry.
17:43So for us, strawberries come directly from our creation story.
17:47They were brought here by Sky Woman through her daughter.
17:50It just represents femininity, womanhood.
17:53Hopefully we'll be able to see that in your dish.
17:56Paulson.
17:58Chaga.
17:59I love chaga.
18:00We celebrate it to heal our bodies.
18:03It comes around the birch tree.
18:05The tricky thing is you have to steep it to medium side of not too light, not too strong.
18:10A really magical ingredient when used correctly.
18:13Thank you very much.
18:14All right, Katie.
18:18Sassafras.
18:19Ooh.
18:20Alex.
18:21Koro salmon.
18:23Charlotte.
18:24Elk.
18:26Chris.
18:28Sweetgrass.
18:29Ongwehoi people are the original people to this land.
18:32Sweetgrass is part of our four sacred medicines.
18:34It's very aromatic.
18:36It can be dried.
18:36It can be burned.
18:37So you can think of maybe you can use it as a smoke.
18:40Thank you, Chef.
18:41Tracy.
18:42Wild rice.
18:44Mmm.
18:45Wild rice isn't a rice.
18:46It's a grass seed that grows from an aquatic grass.
18:49It's really known for its nutty flavor.
18:51It's a very versatile ingredient, and I think you're going to have a lot of fun with that.
18:55I think the advice for you all when approaching our ingredients, show yourself.
18:59Show your own roots as well.
19:01I know it is from our culture, our background, but we're also here to share.
19:06So tapui and hi-hi.
19:08We'll see you at the party tomorrow, chefs.
19:10Good luck.
19:12Woo-hoo!
19:15Holy!
19:16A lot of herbs.
19:17I've been seeing nuts over there.
19:19Oh, yeah.
19:19In the open-your-eyes section.
19:23This is my first time cooking bison.
19:26Bison.
19:26It's a very lean meat, so I am making a bison tartare.
19:30With tartare, the cuts are very important to get the right mouthfeel.
19:34Well, the cut of bison that I got is the area closer to its butt area.
19:40I don't know if I'm going to see butt, but I am getting a piece of a cracker started.
19:46My dish needs some sort of texture, so I'm going to make a buckwheat puff.
19:51Cheyenne, Cheyenne, Cheyenne.
19:52Cheyenne, Cheyenne.
19:53Yes?
19:54It's the battle of the tartare.
19:55Chef Charlotte is also making tartare, so my dish needs to be better.
19:59Cheyenne said that bison head into the storm, and they're not afraid of anything, so I'm
20:04staying fierce.
20:05Gloves are off.
20:09That's nice.
20:10You really know where it gets its name from.
20:12I've never worked with sweetgrass before, but I'm super excited for the challenge because
20:15I'm going to get to learn more about these important ingredients to our country.
20:19Sweetgrass does have a natural sweet flavor, so what the heck am I going to do here?
20:25it.
20:26I'm making dessert.
20:27What?
20:29Decided to make dessert, so here we go.
20:33So I'm making pound cake with a simple syrup infused with the sweetgrass.
20:38I'm going to brush this right into that pound cake.
20:40Next, milk chocolate, ganache infused with the fresh and dry sweetgrass, and then I infuse
20:46the chocolate with the smoked sweetgrass, and I'm also making a plum cherry sweetgrass sauce.
20:52Every component of my dish has sweetgrass in it somehow, some way.
20:58Salting together.
20:59Yeah.
20:59Salty girls.
21:01Salty, yeah.
21:01I picked sassafras.
21:03Smells sweet, a little bit woodsy.
21:06It reminds me of cloves, cinnamon, kind of like root beer.
21:10Do you smell it?
21:11Yeah.
21:13I'm making a toasted almond and pine nuts, tofu with charred corn, and sassafras vinaigrette
21:19with sassafras vinaigrette with sassafras.
21:20I'm going to make a vinaigrette with sassafras.
21:22I'm going to make a vinaigrette with sassafras.
21:22I'm doing a vinaigrette with sassafras.
21:23I'm doing a nut tofu.
21:24I'm doing a nut tofu.
21:25It gives some richness to the dish.
21:28I'm going to make a vinaigrette with some sassafras.
21:29I'm going to make a vinaigrette with some sassafras.
21:31I start making the vinaigrette by putting vinegar, water, and sugar together over sassafras.
21:38And I let that steep.
21:39Good?
21:40Yeah.
21:41Oh, it's going to be good.
21:43I take up a lot of space in life and in the kitchen.
21:49Wild rice, it's such a subtle flavor.
21:51It can be hidden extremely easily.
21:54So today I'm making a wild rice pudding with a half-cap fluid gel, which is sour, slightly
22:00sweet, and then a cedar foam.
22:02The last thing, I need to make sure my dish is full of flavor and texture.
22:07So I fry the wild rice as a crispy garnish.
22:10Hell yeah.
22:11Because I didn't do well in the last challenge, I'm hoping to blow them away with this one.
22:15I feel like I need redemption on my dessert, so...
22:18You're going to get it.
22:19I hope so.
22:21I think you're out in the woods.
22:24You started eating bark.
22:25That's exactly what it tastes like.
22:27I got chaga.
22:28Chef Shane says chaga is a magical ingredient when used correctly.
22:33My dish is a juniper chaga cured walleye with dill weed crispy bannock and a chaga consomme.
22:40This is going to be the base for the chaga consomme.
22:43Making a consomme is a labor of love.
22:45Needs to be light, flavorful, crystal clear.
22:48I'm fortifying my broth with roasted mushrooms and that chaga.
22:51It's woodsy and umami, but I'm trying to get it as light and delicate as possible.
22:57I'm feeling like maybe the chaga could be like a touch bitter, so I'm just worried about that.
23:01Instantly I taste it and it's like bitter.
23:03The chaga's coming through too long, I pull that chaga out right away.
23:06That's powerful stuff, I can taste it.
23:08Did I overdo it?
23:09Did I extract too much?
23:11It starts to become real in that like this is an actual elimination challenge.
23:15Somebody's going home.
23:16We're at 401 Richmond for the Imaginative Film Festival party.
23:35The 25th anniversary, no less.
23:38Revenge of Pocahontas is my favorite.
23:40Yeah, that's funny.
23:41The exhibit is really cool.
23:43There's old posters from previous festivals.
23:46It's inspiring.
23:47I hope it just keeps getting bigger every year.
23:52Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!
23:54Let's go.
23:55Come on!
23:57Pretty excited to serve some beautiful dish to some beautiful people.
24:01For this elimination challenge, we're honoring the origin story of an indigenous ingredient.
24:06Serving 50 guests of the festival.
24:08Let's go Chef!
24:10Literally every single thing that's going in this little bowl today has been infused with sweet grass.
24:17That's the chaga consomme, crystal clear.
24:20I'm very excited to be outside in the sun.
24:23I picked strawberry as my ingredient, also referred to as heart berries.
24:29I have a dehydrated strawberry.
24:31I have a cookie with hazelnut and corn.
24:34I've got a strawberry curd.
24:36I have a strawberry salsa.
24:37I have a strawberry tattoo on my forearm.
24:42I'm so excited.
24:46It's hot out here, baby.
24:47I'm making an elk tartare.
24:49I'm feeling like this is going to be delicious, very aromatic.
24:51Last time the judges told me my dish was too much.
24:54This time I want to make sure that my dish is clear, focused, and it's perfectly seasoned.
24:59It is going to have wild mushrooms, foraged mushrooms, blueberry, apple, a little bit of blue cheese, a little pickled ginger, a little caviar at the very end.
25:08This is me trying to be fancy.
25:10Guests are arriving, yes.
25:12Guests are arriving?
25:14Final push.
25:16Rock and roll.
25:17This is like a zero-pressure competition.
25:21Whatever.
25:25Hello, everyone.
25:26On behalf of Top Chef Canada, we are so honored to be here, celebrating 25 years of Imaginative.
25:36Thank you, everybody, for being here with us today for our 25th anniversary.
25:40It's incredibly special.
25:42I'm so excited to bring Rosary Spence here to perform.
25:47Thank you, everybody, for welcoming here.
25:51The song I'm going to share with you is called N'gohom N'gamoen.
25:54It comes from a place of healing and honoring all of our grandmothers and matriarchs and mothers.
25:59I immediately feel like I'm going to get emotional and realize, like, how special this experience is.
26:20I keep thinking of my dad.
26:23Like many other First Nations people, he didn't grow up with our culture, and therefore I didn't grow up with my culture that was taken from us.
26:32But now we're learning together.
26:35I cry a lot, and I know he would be there, like, crying with me, and I just know he'd be so proud.
26:42Wow.
26:54Bon appetit, everyone.
26:57Good evening.
26:58I have the cool salmon crudo.
27:00I've made a cake that's been glazed with a sweet grass tea.
27:04Sassafras, first used to make the first root beer.
27:09Hello, judges.
27:10Hi, Katie.
27:11Hi, Chef Nanya.
27:12Hi, Chef.
27:13The ingredient that I chose was sassafras.
27:14I made toasted pine nut and almond tofu, and then I did a little charred corn that's been smoked in sassafras, and then I made a little vinaigrette with Saskatoon berries.
27:27Your tofu is amazing.
27:28Your vinaigrette is beautifully balanced.
27:30It's perfect.
27:31You've done an amazing job of taking this sweet vehicle for the sassafras, but then tying that sweetness into the meatiness that you got from the nuts and the tofu, I think it's amazing.
27:41Awesome.
27:42We totally dove in, came up with something pretty amazing.
27:46Thank you, Katie.
27:52Hi, Alex.
27:53Hi.
27:54Hello, judges.
27:55How are you?
27:56Good.
27:57How are you?
27:58My ingredients is coho salmon.
27:59I have a smoked coho crudo, salmon dashi made with the heads and the bones, crispy salmon skin with puffed quinoa, and then I have a local berries and radish sorbet.
28:10I love the different layers, the crunchy textures.
28:12I wasn't sure if I even needed the sorbet.
28:14It was so good even without it.
28:15This crispy situation is such a delight.
28:18It's so fun to eat.
28:19This woke me right up.
28:21It's unbelievable.
28:22I'm having a second one, so thank you so much.
28:25Thank you, chef.
28:26Hi, Holly.
28:27Hi.
28:28I've got heart berries.
28:29So I have done a corn and hazelnut cookie, done as a dehydrated strawberry, strawberry curd, and also strawberry salsa with spruce tips.
28:39And the heart berries really come through.
28:41This is delicious.
28:42The salsa for me definitely elevates it.
28:44And I'm happy that you did the strawberries different ways because each way it does taste different.
28:48The corn comes through so well and compliments the strawberries perfectly.
28:51It's fantastic.
28:52My plate is empty.
28:53Yes.
28:54Great.
28:55Thank you so much.
28:56This is amazing.
28:58Like it?
28:59Mmm.
29:00Mmm.
29:01Hi, Colson.
29:02Hey, guys.
29:03How are you?
29:04Good.
29:05Chaga, chaga, chaga.
29:06Try to get that flavor into everything.
29:09So here we have walleye cured with chaga, juniper.
29:13In the bannock cracker, there's more chaga.
29:15And a chaga consomme.
29:17I think there's a really nice balance of flavor and texture.
29:20But it was very clean on the palate and fresh.
29:22You're really clever with what ingredients to pair it with.
29:25That almost accentuated and like blew it up in proportion into something that was fabulously harmonious.
29:30This actually really reminds me of my dad's home territory of Tandenega.
29:33They're a huge fishing community.
29:35And walleyes, like, everything, right?
29:37I love the light flavors, the way you've infused chaga into the bannock, not just the consomme.
29:42You had your work cut out for you, and I think you did great.
29:44Now I'll go, Chef.
29:45Thank you so much.
29:46Woo-hoo!
29:47Bon appetit, mademoiselle.
29:49I don't even know where to start.
29:51There's so many.
29:52There's so many elements.
29:53I've fed a lot of the people at the party.
29:55I'm reading the room, and they're enjoying it.
29:58But they're not, like, loving it.
30:00It's too much.
30:01It's too big.
30:02I made it too complicated.
30:03I made it too much.
30:04Here I go.
30:07Hi, Sharla.
30:08Hi.
30:09Hello, you beautiful people.
30:10Today I had the opportunity to pick elk.
30:12So this is an elk mince.
30:14Inside of the mince is a salted and pickled fish and a little bit of dried oyster as well.
30:18The bannock on the bottom is ground wheat berries and purple corn flour.
30:22There is blueberry, yogurt, pickled mushrooms, seaweed, algae oil, caviar, pickled ginger, apple, blue cheese.
30:29A lot of flavors happening in here.
30:31Maybe there's too much going on.
30:34For a bite, it's very...
30:35A lot.
30:36Very filling.
30:37The bannock, a little chewy.
30:39And the last thing I have is a little bit more chopped up.
30:42It would be a little nicer, but I mean...
30:44Yeah.
30:45Can I tell you what I was going to guess you were going to say?
30:46Mm.
30:47Pull it back a little bit.
30:48Too big of a portion.
30:50Maybe some acidity, but that was my guess.
30:52It was just really complicated to eat.
30:54There's just a lot going on, and it just kind of felt muddled.
30:57I would pull it back a little bit, just like you said.
31:00Thank you so much.
31:01Thank you, chef.
31:03It's a one biter, but she's a bit juicy.
31:18It's incredible.
31:19For me, it's the blue cheese that sort me out.
31:22Oh, really?
31:23Okay, cool.
31:24That was so delicate and awesome.
31:26I'd eat five of those.
31:27Beautifully bright on the palate.
31:29Very, very tasty.
31:30Thank you, chef.
31:31Anthony, this is so good.
31:32Thank you very much.
31:34That's a pleasure.
31:35This event is just so beautiful.
31:37Just to have the chance to cook for some VIP indigenous artists.
31:41The vibes are just amazing.
31:43This is really cool.
31:44Come back later, okay?
31:47Hi, Anthony.
31:48Hi, judges.
31:49How are you?
31:50So over there, I just have the sunflower seeds.
31:52You have a cream really thick of sunflower and a bit of corn.
31:55You have caramelized sunflower.
31:57You have an oil with sunflower seeds that I roast in the oven.
32:00This is like a two Michelin star dish.
32:03The critique from your last foray was that it was busy, but there's a lot of contrast here,
32:08and it's all so harmonious.
32:09Thank you very much.
32:10I'm finding the flavors to be absolutely bright, fresh, exciting, really, really tasty.
32:15The sunflower is very bright considering it's a seed.
32:18I even love the look of the dish, the colors that you have pop with it.
32:21I love the way this came together.
32:23Thank you very much.
32:24Hi, Chris.
32:25Hi, Chris.
32:26Hi, Chris.
32:27Chef Shane, how are you today?
32:28Good.
32:29Very good.
32:31So I pulled sweetgrass today.
32:32The cake is a sweetgrass pound cake.
32:34On the bottom, charred sweetgrass cherry plum sauce, milk chocolate that's been infused
32:38with sweetgrass two ways.
32:39Wow.
32:40Wow.
32:41I'm going to use this word only one time in my life for realsies, I can taste sweetgrass.
32:44You know, like it's tricky.
32:45I know, man.
32:46I know.
32:47The sweetgrass is just coming through on so many levels.
32:50That pickled cherry, so perfect.
32:52You know, the sweetgrass is just coming through on so many levels.
32:57That pickled cherry, so perfect.
33:00Cherry, so poppy, so bright.
33:02That was delicious.
33:03You put a lot of work in this, and I think you can tell all those layers of texture and
33:07flavor.
33:08Yeah.
33:09Really special.
33:12Hi, hi.
33:13Hi, Tracy.
33:14Hello.
33:15Hello, Tracy.
33:16My ingredient that I chose is wild rice.
33:19I have wild rice pudding underneath in a custard of moose fat and duck yolk, and then
33:25a hazpat fluid gel, some crisp wild rice, and a cedar foam.
33:29I like the plate on the fried rice, and I like the way you worked the gel into it, but
33:35the actual rice pudding is a little bit flat for me.
33:38It could have gone a little further for me.
33:40Like, I think the base flavor is good, but I wanted a little bit more from it.
33:44I like the puffed rice on top of it, because otherwise, if it was just this, it would have
33:47been a bit mushy, and this is giving you texture back.
33:51Thank you, Tracy.
33:54Hi, Cheyenne.
33:55Hi, judges.
33:56Hello, Cheyenne.
33:57Hello.
33:58Hello, Cheyenne.
33:59Hello.
34:00So, I picked bison.
34:02I learned that bison is very straightforward, not afraid of the storm.
34:07Today, I made a bison tartare.
34:09On the top, I have a buckwheat puff.
34:12I also made a beetroot and hibiscus gel, and a celery root lemongrass custard.
34:18Yeah, I feel like the meat should have been chopped a little bit finer.
34:22Okay.
34:23I'm having a little bit of a hard time eating it.
34:25Okay.
34:26I just wanted it to be rough, like, very wild-like, so I just did everything very rustic.
34:30I do find that this either needs to be, like, super crispy or softer.
34:35Yeah, or softer.
34:36One or the other, but not, like, an in-between.
34:38I was expecting your bison to be seasoned heavier and stronger.
34:42It really needed some strength.
34:44Okay.
34:45Thank you, Chef.
34:47I am so disappointed in myself.
34:50It takes a chef having one bad day to be sent home.
34:54Sorry.
34:55Just need a minute.
35:00Oh.
35:01Oh, wow.
35:02Jesus.
35:03It was amazing.
35:04What a day.
35:05It feels so good to stay.
35:06Being there was just, like, amazing.
35:07I cried again.
35:08I couldn't help it.
35:09It was awesome.
35:11Someone's going home tonight.
35:12It's not fun.
35:13This is the worst part of this night.
35:14Oh, I'm so happy.
35:15I'm so happy.
35:16I'm so happy.
35:17I'm so happy.
35:18I'm so happy.
35:19I'm so happy.
35:20I'm so happy.
35:21I'm so happy.
35:22I'm so happy.
35:23I'm so happy.
35:24I'm so happy.
35:25I'm so happy.
35:26I'm so happy.
35:27I'm so happy.
35:28You're so happy.
35:29This is the worst part of this.
35:36Chefs, the judges would like to see
35:41Coulson, Chris, and Katie.
35:45Oh, that was intense.
35:48I got a girl.
35:59Chefs, congratulations.
36:10You had our favorite dishes of the challenge.
36:12Good job, guys.
36:13Nice one.
36:15Nice work.
36:16Feels good.
36:18Wow.
36:18So Katie, let's talk about your dish.
36:20You were tasked with sassafras.
36:22Yep.
36:23You did an almond tofu with charred corn
36:26and Saskatoon berries.
36:27Flavors were beautiful.
36:29I sort of chased the acidity on the plate
36:31until I had the berry combination with the vinaigrette
36:34and the sassafras.
36:35And then the subtlety of the combination came together.
36:37When I had my last bite, I still wanted one more.
36:42That means a lot.
36:44Chris, you were assigned sweetgrass
36:45and you paired it with chocolate and cherries.
36:48It was so good.
36:49You balanced it out perfectly.
36:52It was so creative and so uniquely Canadian,
36:55and it showed your personality.
36:56It was excellent.
36:57Nice work.
36:58Thanks, chef.
37:00And Colson, your junip-procured walleye with chaga,
37:04I thought it was fantastic.
37:05I know that it's this ephemeral, woody, foresty flavor,
37:09but somehow you managed to paint a palette
37:11with similar and like ingredients,
37:13a deft display of your expertise.
37:16Wow.
37:18And the chef with the best dish of the challenge is...
37:28Colson.
37:29Good job, buddy.
37:32Good job.
37:33That's insane.
37:34I don't know what to say.
37:39That's such a hard ingredient to work with chaga.
37:42It was just such a cool dish.
37:44This is my first win on Top Chef Canada.
37:46I'm feeling strong, focused.
37:48I'm not slowing down now.
37:50I'm ready for anything and everything.
37:52Big man.
37:55They want to see Tracy, Cheyenne, and Charlotte.
38:07That's so great.
38:09Thank you, Steve.
38:10Good luck.
38:20Chefs, unfortunately, you have our least favorite dishes
38:24of the challenge.
38:27Charlotte, tartare is always best done simply.
38:30Yours became a bit of a train wreck,
38:33because you kept adding to it.
38:35Blue cheese, caviar, gel.
38:38The more you do, generally, the less it is.
38:41I'm very, like, influenced by everyone in this space.
38:43And I'm seeing beautiful restraint from some chefs.
38:45I'm seeing malty elements from other chefs.
38:48And I'm, like, pulling all these other influences together.
38:51We actually want to know your story,
38:52and we want to see your personality.
38:54Yeah.
38:54We want to know who you are as a chef.
38:56Okay.
38:57Thanks.
38:58I appreciate that.
38:59Tracy, let's go to your dish.
39:01You made a wild rice pudding.
39:03The rice pudding was not really that pleasant.
39:07Okay.
39:08You had a crispy bit.
39:09You had the cream.
39:10You had a little bit of berry composition.
39:12But the dish was very, very basic in its structure.
39:15And to be honest, I didn't know how to use wild rice
39:19in a savory context.
39:21And the only thing I felt comfortable doing
39:24was wild rice pudding.
39:26To say that you couldn't imagine of savory applications
39:29for what is probably Canada's most iconic grain feels like a failure of the imagination to me.
39:37High in sight is always 20-20.
39:41Cheyenne, you made a bison tartare with a buckwheat crisp.
39:46I really did feel like there was a good dish in there somewhere, but it all fell short.
39:51The crisp, it ended up being more like a doughy, overworked pita.
39:55Also, the cut on the actual bison was really rough.
40:00And I feel like for a tartare, it's so much about knife skills.
40:04Yeah, I'm honestly just disappointed in myself.
40:07I really wanted to impress you guys, so hopefully I can see another day
40:13and show you guys why I'm here, and that I can cook, so, yeah.
40:19The judges have a lot to think about, and will call you when we've made a decision.
40:23Thank you so much.
40:25Thank you, chefs.
40:30Yeah, he's waiting.
40:32We're waiting.
40:33Waiting?
40:34Yeah, we're eating.
40:35Yeah.
40:39Those were three disappointing dishes.
40:41Whose was the worst?
40:43Charlotte, for me.
40:44It was confusing.
40:45You know, Coco Chanel says, before you go out the door, take one thing off.
40:49I think Charlotte could have tripled that advice.
40:51Blue cheese?
40:52Why?
40:53She missed the ABC basics of preparing a tartare.
40:56The way you're talking about it, that could have also been Cheyenne's dish.
40:59Cheyenne had a bit of a better story.
41:01She failed on the cut of the meat, she could have diced it finer.
41:04That's not all she didn't handle well.
41:06Under-seasoned, rough chop, stale bread that was used the wrong way.
41:11What about Tracy's wild rice pudding?
41:13Tracy's dish, you know, ill-conceived, yes.
41:16But it was edible.
41:17It's a gorgeous ingredient, okay?
41:20Yep.
41:21There's so many things you can do with this ingredient.
41:24She looked at it, she drew a blank.
41:26Then what are you doing here on Top Chef if you brought nothing to the table yourself?
41:29I would have done a salad.
41:30Well, there's lots of things you could have done with that ingredient.
41:33Well, to this point, and to the point of the challenge, who do you think made the
41:38more egregious error in how they honored the ingredients that they were given?
41:42Tracy that made a bland rice pudding?
41:45Cheyenne or Charlotte that really smothered the elk in anything but elk?
42:12Chefs, your challenge was to create a dish that honors an indigenous ingredient and serve
42:19it to a party of imaginative VIPs.
42:22Cheyenne, there were some technical flaws with your bison tartare, and your components
42:27were not successfully incorporated.
42:29Yeah.
42:30Yeah.
42:31Tracy, we felt your wild rice pudding lacked imagination and failed to make wild rice a
42:37star.
42:38Charlotte, your elk dish had too many elements and overshadowed the ingredient you were meant
42:45to highlight.
42:46Charlotte, please pack your knives and go.
43:00Thank you so much.
43:01Yeah, guys, thank you.
43:12Thank you, chef.
43:13I really s***ed the bet on this one.
43:16It just wasn't good.
43:17That's it.
43:18Of course I would love to win, but I'm leaving so full of gratitude.
43:22And you're supposed to clap.
43:26My experience in Top Chef Canada has been a roller coaster of emotions.
43:30I've learned that I need to stay true to who I am and be myself, and that will always shine
43:35no matter how crappy the knife cuts were on the elk tartare.
43:47Next time on Top Chef Canada.
43:49Let's go.
43:50This challenge is inspired by the prestigious culinary competition.
43:54Bocuse d'Or.
43:55Holy crap.
43:56It's an extremely technically driven challenge.
43:59You have to plate seven dishes in front of the judges.
44:03The flavors are wild.
44:04I didn't feel like it belonged here.
44:06If you only have a three piece van, every musician has to be solid.
44:11This is a double elimination.
44:12Two chefs will be going home.
44:13Oh, boy.
44:14This is a double elimination.
44:15Two chefs will be going home.
44:16Oh, boy.
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