Noelle Myers recaps the 4th episode of season 5!

Top Chef Masters was full of surprises this week, and not just for the chefs!

For the Quickfire this week, the chefs paired a beer, supplied by Curtis, with curry.  They created their own curry.  There were no pre-made seasonings, pastes, or mixes available to them.  The Chefs had 30 minutes to create their winning dish.  The chefs created a huge variety of curries – Asian, Thai, North African, Malaysian, Indian and Vegetarian curries all made an appearance.  Helping Curtis judge this week’s Quickfire was Jason Bently, The music director of a popular radio station.

Franklin created Malaysian curried mussels with okra and scallions, and paired them with the Sophie beer.  The judges didn’t like the mussels in the shell, and thought the curry was too sweet.  Franklin ended up on the bottom of the Quickfire this week.

Jennifer was the only Chef to use the Matilda beer, and she paired it with Harissa mussels, eggplant, chickpeas, chilies and papadam crisps.  Both Curtis and Jason liked the papadam crisps.

Douglas went for something different and made a coconut water consume with potrale sole and mango, and paired it with the Sophie beer.  He really liked his dish, but the judges didn’t think it was quite right – not enough curry.  Jason chose this as his least favorite dish for the week.

Neal took a risk and cooked Basmati Rice to go with his curried grilled chicken leg and coconut curry sauce.  He paired it with the Sophie Beer.  The judges liked the sauce, but thought there was too much rice on the plate and it overwhelmed the dish.

Sang second guessed the simplicity of his dish, as he usually does.  But as usual, the judges loved his northern Thai yellow curry, keffir lime, and chicken thighs.  He also used the Sophie Beer.  The judges picked his curry as one of their favorites.

Bryan made oven roasted shrimp with peanuts, coconut, and orange cells.  He also paired them with the Sophie beer.  The judges thought this dish paired the best with the beer of all the chef’s dishes, but it wasn’t quite Asian enough for them.

Lynn also made a great impression on the judges by giving them the only vegetarian curry in the bunch.  Her vegetable curry with fresh apple and cashews, paired with the Sophie beer, was also the judge’s top pick this week.

Sang’s dish was chosen as the favorite of both Jason and Curtis, and he won another $5,000 for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, bringing his total to $20,000!

For the Elimination Challenge, James Oseland gave a Global Tasting Party for Saveur magazine.  Curtis told the Chefs they had to cook canapés for the party.  During the last Battle of the Sous Chefs, Drew won immunity for Douglas.  Lynn, Sang, and Brian’s Sous Chefs were on the bottom, so they were together on a team.  Since Douglas’s Sous Chef won, he got to choose his teammates.  Douglas chose Sue and David to be on his team.  That left Franklin, Jennifer, and Neal to be the third team.

Curtis left the Chefs to plan with James Oseland.  As soon as Curtis was gone, James let the Chefs in on a secret.  He was not really throwing a party for Saveur.  They were going to be preparing for a surprise engagement party for Curtis and his Fiancee, Lindsey.  Lindsey came out and talked to the Chefs and told them some things about her and Curtis.  They love Korean BBQ.  Lindsey’s mom is Korean and she makes Korean BBQ a lot.  Curtis also loves chocolate, curry, Thai food and crab.

The Chefs were all excited to give back (or get back at, depending on your point of view) to Curtis and were pumped to cook for his party.  Each team did three savory canapés and one dessert.  Because they were on the bottom during the Sous Chefs Challenge, the Blue Team (Sang, Lynn, and Bryan) only had 15 minutes to shop at Whole Foods.  Everyone else had 30 minutes.

After some whirlwind shopping, the Chefs started cooking.  It was fun to watch the party prep interspersed with guests arriving to the party.  Lindsey thought Curtis knew.  James was sure he didn’t know.  Apparently, it was very hard to surprise Curtis.

When Curtis walked into the room, everyone yelled “Surprise!”  James was right.  Curtis had no idea!  They got him.

Judging this week was Curtis, James, Gail, and Ruth Reichl.  We met some of Curtis’s friends as well as his soon to be in-laws.

First up was the Blue Team.  Sang made a deconstructed korean bbq (raw) with ssamjang vinaigrette, smoked scallions and black sesame.  Lindsey liked it and enjoyed the raw aspect of the dish.  Lynn made a curried crab cake with ginger relish in a nod to Curtis’s favorite dish, curried crab.  Bryan made a bay scallop with yogurt, grapefruit and maple vinegar.  Diners loved the scallop, but felt the yogurt clashed with the citrus.  All three chefs worked on the dessert, a yellow corn cake with bourbon ice cream and caramel.

Next was the Green Team – Neal, Jennifer, and Franklin.  They had some issues during prep and had to scramble for a while.  Neal came up with a lamb kefta with a peanut coconut curry sauce.  Jennifer made lobster, lentil and coconut ravioli with roasted macadamia nuts and red curry.  Franklin made three different dishes.  He made (raw) salmon with citrus, avocado, and pickled cucumber.  He also made a cocktail – a pink sake, guava, and coconut cocktail.  James called the cocktail a confused pinkish liquid, and Gail thought it was too sweet.  Other diners seemed to think it was quite strong.  Neal and Jennifer had been so focused on fixing the ravioli issues, that Franklin had to make the dessert by himself – chocolate ricotta doughnuts with chocolate sauce.  The judges wished there had been more chocolate sauce, calling the swipe of sauce on the plate, “a skid mark of chocolate.”

The Red Team of Douglas, Sue, and David was last to serve.  Douglas had a freak out moment about the lack of wait staff but all was fine in the end.  The team made a Korean bbq surf and turf with aged beef and lobster.  Lindsey and her parents were not too fond of the surf and turf idea.  It just wasn’t Korean enough for them.  Sue made a curried crab beignet with a cilantro aioli.  Everyone raved over them.  Douglas kept it simple with a shitake umami broth.  Simple is good, as the judges raved about the depth of flavor in the broth.  David made the dessert – chocolate cheesecake pops with peppermint whipped cream.  Gail ate three.  Everyone loved them.

During a candid moment we found out that Bryan had a baby on the way.  This would be his third child.  Congratulations Bryan!

Curtis called the Red Team to the judges table first.  We found out that they were the favorites and this week the entire team won.  Each member of the Red Team took home $5000 dollars for their charity.  Douglas was stoked to earned money for Greendog.  David earned money for Table To Table, and Sue added to her donation for the Gulf Restoration Network.

This week the Green Team was on the bottom, and they were all worried about going home.  The judges thought Neal’s Kefta was too simple, too greasy, and too bland.  Jen’s pasta dough was far too thick, and the judges couldn’t find any lobster in their raviolis.  Franklin took on far too much.  His drink was confused, and the doughnuts were bland.

Franklin was the one who went home.  Top Chef Masters made a donation to Autism Speaks on Franklin’s behalf.  Autism Speaks was very personal to him, as his oldest son has Autism.

Next week – Drama, Drama, and more Drama as the chefs compete in RESTAURANT WARS!