Although the brand new and twenty first season of Bravo’s High Chef started with three San Francisco cooks within the lineup of 15 up-and-coming culinary stars, the primary episode, which premiered on Wednesday, March 20, noticed a type of younger bucks go dwelling. Chef David Murphy of Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Pure Wine was the unfortunate contestant despatched dwelling within the season’s first episode. Cooks Rasika Venkatesa, recognized for her time within the kitchen at Moroccan superb eating restaurant Mourad, and Laura Ozyilmaz, who co-owns Dalida within the Presidio, additionally did not make a lot of a splash. Nevertheless it was in the end Murphy whom the judges requested to pack up his knives. Meaning simply two San Francisco cooks stay within the competitors.
It got here right down to an on-brand however poorly executed occasion for Murphy. Decide Gail Simmons tasked Murphy and 4 different cooks, together with Venkatesa, to make a stuffed pasta of their alternative with barely any time to assemble substances from Complete Meals. “I’ve by no means stuffed a fucking gnocchi earlier than,” Murphy says within the automotive with the opposite contestants. Nonetheless, Murphy determined that’d be his submission to the elimination bout — particularly a mushroom-stuffed gnocchi with hen liver gravy and Calabrian chili, amongst different elements. For her half, Venkatesa selected to make a kozhukkatta- and korma-inspired dish, citing an absence of Indian renditions of pasta.
Colicchio anxious aloud about how lengthy it took Murphy to roll his pasta, which editors for the present coupled with a harsh minimize to Murphy muttering “Come on, bitch.” (To be truthful, Murphy made a present of dropping swear phrases and generously used the phrase “attractive” all through the primary episode, which may have been the makings of an entertaining consuming recreation for viewers.) Whereas the judges knocked Venkatesa for her alternative — decide Tom Colicchio mentioned merely: “It’s not pasta” — they cited Murphy because the least favourite for utilizing an excessive amount of sauce. Simmons informed the opposite judges she felt Murphy gave up earlier than he began.
David Moir/Bravo by way of Getty Picture
By the top of the episode, it was Murphy towards Texas’s Amanda Turner and Georgia’s Kenny Nguyen, the least favorites of their respective classes. In what appeared a optimistic twist, the duty was to make the most of the leftovers from the day’s challenges. Requested to make “a great plate of meals” by newcomer decide Kristin Kish, the cooks had 20 minutes to make use of no matter remained within the kitchen. It’s a dream come true to cook dinner with the refuse, Murphy mentioned to the digicam. Nonetheless, he appeared hesitant to select a lane, serving poached shrimp with cilantro and sungold tomatoes alongside coconut-cilantro broth and inexperienced curry sauce. The sauces have been almost similar, in line with Simmons, and the dish didn’t stack as much as a salad from Nguyen and a crudo from Turner.
For her half, Ozyilmaz competed with 4 others in a Kish-sourced soup problem. Whereas not the least favourite, they dinged her yogurt, mushroom, and bulgur dish for that includes too many substances. Standout contestants within the first episode embrace Manny Barella Lopez from Denver, who made a shocking pozole, and Danny Garcia from New York with the near-perfect roast hen.
Murphy, in fact, has nothing to fret about: Shuggie’s is a nationwide phenomenon, and shops together with the New York Instances and Bon Appetit have hailed the maximalist pizza paradise. He was actually bummed to go nonetheless, making loads of hat jokes with Colicchio (who’s worn many a enjoyable hat all through the years) and lamenting his early departure. “First dude. First,” Murphy says to the digicam. “First to go. By no means thought I’d be first.”
The brand new season already has a number of twists and turns in retailer for longtime followers, together with a brand new decide stepping in for Padma Lakshmi and an opportunity to win more cash in every episode. The following episode debuts on Wednesday, March 27 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. ET on Bravo and for streaming the next day on the Peacock app.
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