Monday, October 25, 2010

dusky ending for Duskie Estes

On this latest episode of "The Next Iron Chef," tiny, unassuming Chef Tio ended up on top of both the preliminary round and the elimination round. The big surprise, for me, was the elimination of Chef Duskie Estes, but the universal complaint from the judges was her overall inconsistency (a problem that might bring Ming Tsai down in future rounds if he's not careful). I can't say I was a fan of Chef Estes; she turned me off when she voted in favor of herself during the first episode-- a move I found rather arrogant. On the plus side, she had a competitive spirit and was liked by Judge Mike Symon, who saw her as a "dark horse" in the competition. Unfortunately, her elimination-round meal was disastrous, and she failed to recover from several missteps.

During the initial challenge, Chef Tio wowed everyone with her ability to use the vinegar in hot sauce as a catalyst for creating a spicy ricotta cheese. Very, very clever, that. In the elimination round, which required the chefs to transform standard fair food into something Iron Chef-worthy, Tio's fish taco, popcorn shrimp, and moon pie wowed the judges enough for her to secure the win.

And now we're down to six chefs.


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