Noelle Myers recaps the season premier!

It is that time again in summer programming for Top Chef Masters!   Thirteen master chefs gathered in Los Angeles to start off Season 5. In a fun twist this season, each Master will have his or her sous chef compete in an online competition, “Battle of the Sous Chefs,” hosted by Hugh Acheson (at bravotv.com). The outcome of the competitions will directly impact the Masters, awarding them advantages, such as immunity. The winner of each battle earns their Top Chef Master immunity, and sometimes, disadvantages, depending on their sous chef’s performance. The  sous chefs who perform the worst always earn obstacles for their Top Chef Master.

There are some new faces in judging this year, as well as many old favorites. Curtis Stone is the host and judge, along with returning favorites Gail Simmons, who has a new role as head critic,  James Oseland, Ruth Reichl, and Francis Lam.  Joining them this year as a judge, is food and dining editor, Leslie Suter.

For the first time ever, a returning Top Chef contestant is on Top Chef Masters. Bryan Voltaggio was the runner up to his brother during their season of Top Chef, and he is out for redemption. Joining him to compete for $100,000 for their favorite charity, are chefs, David Burke, Douglas Keane, Franklin Becker, Herbert Wilson, Jenn Louis, Jenifer Jasinski, Lynn Crawford, Neal Fraser, Odette Fada, Richard Sandoval, Sang Yoon, and Sue Zemanick.

The competition began with a bang as the chefs learned that their Sous Chefs would be competing for them in the twist this season.  In lieu of a Quickfire challenge on this episode, the Sous Chefs were sent off to compete right away. While that was going on, the chefs learned that they had to travel to Paris, California for their elimination challenge. They could choose to drive to the location, where they would then have one hour to cook, or they could fly and have two hours. The catch? They had to jump out of the plane in a tandem skydive! (YIKES!) Curtis Stone went around the room and one by one each of the chefs chose whether to skydive and get the extra time, or drive and give up that extra hour.

All but one of the chefs decided to take the plunge and jump out of the plane! Hugh and the Sous Chefs returned with the results of the challenge. The winner was Douglas Keane’s sous chef, and so Douglas had immunity for the elimination challenge, which worked out perfectly for him, as he was the only chef to refuse to skydive. The three chefs whose sous chefs had been least successful in the challenge were faced with a disadvantage at the challenge. Curtis sent the chefs off to the airport to get ready for skydiving.

The skydiving twist was fitting, as the elimination challenge was to cook lunch for an elite skydiving team, The Skyhawks. One by one the Chefs jumped from the plane – except for Douglas Keane, who was loving his air conditioned car ride to the event location. When the chefs landed, they found they would be cooking in a make shift kitchen in the middle of a field! They also found they had to use the same ingredients their sous chefs used in their challenge earlier. Most of the chefs were thrilled with their sous chef’s choices, but a few had issues. Bryan had no proteins, while Richard had both salmon and beef he had to use, Herb was not happy about having to use oysters.

Chefs Lynn Crawford, David Burke and Richard Sandoval found that their disadvantage was that they only had table utensils to work with. No sharp knives of any kind. Only a butter knife was available to them. Several of the chefs had issues with working in the wind and the changing temperatures of the outdoors.  Herb was unable to get his oil to temperature and in the end was unable to complete his dish and had to serve his dish without oysters.

Just before the judges table, the Skyhawks came gliding in. It was fun to watch them nearly land right on the picnic table (on purpose of course). The chefs and judges were all suitably impressed by the parachute team’s skills. As they were eating lunch, we found that one of the men had jumped over fourteen thousand times! No wonder they were so good!

At the judges table, Bryan, Odette and Neil were the cream of the crop. James and Gail were impressed with the sexiness of Bryan’s Aromatic Carrots with Pine Nut Praline, Arugula Chimichurri & Golden Raisins. (It looked amazing!) The judges were impressed with Niel’s ability to turn a plethora of ingredients into a very balanced Pork Meatball with Cavolo Nero, Farro & Pickled Fresno Chilies dish. But it was Chef Odette’s Cold Roast Lamb with Cauliflower & Anchovy Salad that was everyone’s favorite. Several people also found Odette herself to be adorable and spunky. Odette walked away with the win this week and an extra $10,000 for her charity – Doctors Without Borders!

Not surprisingly, Herb, David and Richard fell to the bottom this week. Chef David’s Shrimp with Smoky White Bean Hummus, Warm Vegetables & Candied Lemon had too much hummus, and James said the “shrimp was too shrimpy.” The shrimp was too briny for most of the table, and the smoky hummus weighed down the dish. The judges were impressed however, that Chef David was able to devein the shrimp with only a butter knife to work with.

Richard’s Beef Tiradito with Cauliflower, Apples & Salmon with an Amarillo Beurre Blanc did not impress either. He used his lack of a good knife as an excuse when defending his dish. The judges were not impressed by either the flavor or the presentation of the huge chunks, or, as Gail and James called them, “flabby arm slabs” of almost raw beef.

Herb failed to complete his Fried Oyster with Grilled Mango-Cucumber Butter & Red Pepper Gazpacho – and when asked if he deserves to go home, said yes. He also said he has much more to show, and would love the chance to continue to compete for the American Heart Association. In the end, the judges agreed that Herb should be the one to go home. The American Heart Association received a donation in Herbs name and Herb had to pack his knives and go.

Top Chef Masters started Season 5 off with an exciting rush! Join us every week as we re-cap each episode!  Who is your favorite?  Who will win this season’s Top Chef Masters?