Top Chef Masters, Season 3, Episode 4:

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Celina is feeling pedestrian compared to Mary Sue’s home made tacos. Still, both Curtis and guest judge Norbert Wabnig, owner of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills scoff it up. Suvir get’s knocked for his presentation. Hugh’s egg dish doesn’t do well. Naomi’s skirt steak with cheese is appreciated by both judges. Mary Sue’s tortilla dish makes Norbert’s mouth all happy. George’s balance between the onion and cheese for his gratin fails. “Too much, too much, too much,” moans George. Alex’s quesadilla’s dish is intense but lacks the right balance of cheese. Too much pepper is Floyd’s downfall. Traci’s carpaccio with goat cheese is a hit. On the bottom lie Floyd and George. At the top rise Naomi and Traci who ultimately takes the Quickfire challenge. Traci gets $5K and immunity for the Elimination challenge.

Creating great food for those who are calorie conscious is the big deal of the day. Curtis introduces Alison Sweeny, host of ‘The Biggest Loser,’ along with two trainers Cara Castronuova and Brett Hoebel.The chefs are tasked with taking foods the overweight contestants craved before engaging in healthy eating habits and turning them into reduced but delicious meals. Breaking into random groups of three: breakfast, lunch and dinner menus under 1500 calories will be served, total. Three dishes plus a brownie dessert under the limit. The contestants/diners drop in to introduce themselves and get one on one time with the chefs. Fortunately, nutritionists will be on board to keep count of spoonfuls of sugar. None are Julie Andrews.

Naomi must recreate nostalgic french toast that won’t exceed the caloric limit. Major feat. Suvir talks about his own son who gained weight and decided on his own to lose it. “If you give people the tools to eat right, they’re able to do that,” he reminisces. Alex’s challenge is fried chicken. He’s lost 90lbs over the past two and one half years spurred on by a cancer scare. The ultimate in overkill is Suvir’s challenge of the bacon cheeseburger. He tries to convince his gal, Irene to go vegetarian. She’s not super excited, but leaves it in his hands. He’s been warned, she likes her beef. It better not taste like cat food.

They head to Whole Foods with the trainers, reading labels and doing the math, just like so many dieters do, then head to the kitchen. They cook, plate and welcome their guests along with the critics.Naomi, Mary Sue and Celina reduce their recipe calorie counts by 1/3. Out go the breakfast potatoes. Vegetable is the word of the evening for these woman. Naomi’s french toast gets an A-OK. James hates Mary Sue’s non corned beef hash. Celina gets no pat on the head either.

The lunch crowd delivers their plates of meatball subs, fried chicken and chinese buffet. James likes Floyd’s meatballs. Alex’s fried chicken is a hit with his Biggest Loser, but the skinny critics disagree. Don’t you just want to slap James on occasion? As for Traci’s dishes, her counterpart enjoys every morsel. James continues to be top dog with the need to show it. Alan concedes it’s not all that, but will do in a pinch vs a slice of bread. 

At this point I think the diners should just smack both of them. It’s not that I could disagree with their opinions, as I didn’t taste it. What they keep throwing into the guest’s faces is that they know everything there is to know about food, and you guys are just fat people in thin bodies now. Your taste buds left you 10 years ago. I’m beginning to not like this season. The demeaning arrogance is really beginning to tick me off. Let us not forget, the vast majority of people who dine out are not culinary experts. Give 375 calories that works and you’re going to meet a lot of patrons, high horses be damned. James even goes as far as to giggle at one of the guests who cleaned his plate… how uncouth of him. Didn’t he read James’ latest book, article, diary entry, napkin? We’ve witnessed Tom Colicchio do the same. Double standard much?

George’s pizza arrives without major fanfare. Suvir goes on so long with his diatribe regarding how sacred cows red meat is bad for heart health, the food begins to stale. Hugh, the youngster and knower of all things culinary is less than happy that Suvir took the wind out of all his ‘this is a flank steak beef dish’ sails. The two get back to the kitchen and toss jabs over who dissed whom. No knives flew, but the veins in Hugh’s forehead seemed to pulse at a quickening pace. Too much red meat?

George had an easy go. Drop the calories, add more flavorful veggies and cheese and you are good to go. Irene isn’t sold on Suvir’s meat substitution. His veggie burger tasted like potatoes. She did warn him. Hugh gets the way to go dude from his counterpart from Biggest Loser. What one guest mentions is he must be able to enjoy a meal he can make himself, something James and Alan ignored. They wanted stuck up gourmet. Period. Dessert is never even brought up in table discussions, so why bother?

At critics; tale, the  blue team takes the win. Naomi, Floyd and George are delighted. They chopped over 4,000 calorie to 1221 with four dishes. The overall favorite dish belongs to Floyd. His buffalo sub maintained both flavor and a health conscious standard. 

The team of Suvir, Mary Sue and Alex are called to the now table of doom. On the bottom, they work to defend their dishes. Suvir admits his client may not like the dish, but he’s on a mission, deal with it. Curtis takes issue with obesity being directly linked with meat vs non meat dishes. Survir caves. Mary Sue’s poached eggs were not runny enough for Alan. He wanted sauce. Danyelle didn’t like her hash. She also didn’t like Alex’s corn bread. He agrees it felt much like a hockey puck. James thought Alex’s chicken was boring and dry not to mention the baby food type sides. Not that James isn’t a big baby.

It’s time for Suvir to pack his knives and go. Although Curtis calls him a master of his craft, a non succulent, non burger did Suvir in. He’s remains adamant he did the right thing. Hugh disagrees and bids him, “Hasta la vista.” 

Next time, we hit the ever adorable fast food drive though. Who hasn’t thrown up lived that nightmare? More importantly, how will James sidestep this upcoming experience?