'Top Chef Wisconsin' Ep. 2: Hop to it in Milwaukee's Miller Caves
A recap of Episode 2, in which the Miller Brewing Company sponsorship is evident in the challenges and comedian Charlie Berens is a guest judge. The second episode of "Top Chef Wisconsin" aired on the Milwaukee show, hosted by the Miller Brewing Company, took place in the Historic Miller Caves. The episode was hosted by Kristen Kish and Season 15 champ Joe Flamm, with the sponsorship of the beer company. The chefs were divided into two teams for a seven-course meal that transformed salty bar snacks paired with the Champagne of Beers into elevated fare. Guest judges included Madison chef Jamie Brown-Soukaseume and Madison Magazine's 2024 Chef of the Year. Laura, whose new San Francisco restaurant is her "baby," won the $5,000 prize with a floral hop-infused rice pudding with berries. The contestants were also criticized for their undercooked farro, undersmoked duck and unappalatable sauce.
Published : 2 months ago by stephanie bedford, Special to the Cap Times, special to the cap times, Stephanie Bedford in Lifestyle
Editor's note: This recap contains spoilers for Episode 2 of "Top Chef Wisconsin." To stream before reading, visit Peacock.com or BravoTV.
The second episode of “Top Chef Wisconsin” foams over with the drink that made Milwaukee famous. But the chefs aren’t cooking with beer — or at least, they didn’t have to.
The Miller Brewing Company sponsorship is evident in the warp and weft of this week’s challenges, cooking locations and bubbly host banter, but as usual the Magical Elves who produce the show found a way to make a beer-themed episode fresh, not skunky.
That doesn’t mean it will be easy. As the episode begins, Kristen Kish and Season 15 champ Joe Flamm hold court surrounded by baskets overflowing with leafy green buds. This being Milwaukee, the chefs’ first Quickfire task is to create a dish using hops — not pot — though as several chefs note, the aromas are not dissimilar. (The High Life, indeed.)
The challenge, much like in cannabis cookery, is to make the ingredient palatable. Amanda has cooked with hops before. She describes their taste as “oregano on steroids,” soapy and bitter.
Laura, whose new San Francisco restaurant is her “baby,” wins the $5,000 prize with a floral hop-infused rice pudding with berries. The judges praise Michelle’s hop-crusted flank steak and Kévin’s berry dish with fleur de sel crumble and oil infused with, as he pronounces it, “’ope.” (His Lumiére-from-Beauty-and-the-Beast accent is as luscious as the whipped cream atop his dessert.)
The chefs ding Kenny’s undercooked farro, Valentine’s undersmoked duck and Danny’s unpalatable sauce. “I can’t imagine that sauce came out the way you wanted it to,” Joe says, as Danny shakes his head.
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A brew-themed Elimination Challenge divides the chefs into two teams for a seven-course meal transforming salty bar snacks customarily paired with the Champagne of Beers into elevated fare.
The Yellow Team — Rasika, Michelle, Dan, Kenny, Savannah, Manny and Alisha — is framed as the underdog from the jump. “Team Rustic vs. Team Fine Dining,” Alisha observes. The Red Team chefs, Kévin, Danny, Valentine, Laura, Amanda, Kaleena and Charly, have more fancypants restaurant experience and have been producing more soigné dishes.
Before they shop, each team makes a plan for dishes involving pretzels, mixed nuts, pickles, popcorn, olives, potato chips and roasted corn kernels.
Team Rustic/Yellow gels immediately, discussing the flavor progression of their meal and agreeing to shop together to avoid duplicate ingredient purchases. Dan (popcorn) gamely yields the last course to Rasika, who is INTO cooking a pretzel dessert the way Cookie Monster is into Thin Mints. Kenny, by contrast, is at first uninspired to cook with potato chips, as his fellow Yellows toss ideas at him that seem to leave him cold.
Team Fine Dining/Red struggles at the grocery store with their every-man-for-himself shopping strategy. Both the pretzel and popcorn chefs both want to make something sweet, so they opt to risk it with two desserts.
Guest judges this week include Madison chef Jamie Brown-Soukaseume of Ahan fame, also Madison Magazine’s 2024 Chef of the Year. She’s joined by comedian Charlie Berens and “Wisconsin Foodie” host Luke Zahm. They’re dining in the stately Historic Miller Caves underneath the Miller Brewery, sipping High Life in stemmed glasses. (Editor’s note: Berens’ tagline is “the Champagne of Comedians.” Keep 'er movin'.)
Yellow starts strong with Savannah’s pickle-brined melon salad, while the judges wince at the saltiness of Kévin’s attempt to (cue Lumiére accent) “make fancy ze olives.” Red Team chef Alisha’s salmon rillette on lavash prompts head judge Tom Colicchio to observe that she’s “made her snack into another snack,” rather than into a composed dish.
Alisha’s teammate Laura stumbles with an “aggressive” Georgian eggplant dish, while Yellow’s Michelle garners praise for her biscuit with spiced honey/High Life drizzle. Manny doesn’t coast on his immunity, impressing with a delicious mixed-nut mole for Team Red. Amanda’s pretzel “pre-dessert,” inspired by her D&D Dungeon Master, wins over the skeptical judges, while Kaleena’s budino earns a resounding “meh.”
The episode’s winner is Rasika, whose tilting-at-windmills pretzel dessert layered with cake, ice cream, granita and honey mustard sabayon “took risks and paid off,” per Tom. Rasika’s goofy persistence and joy in executing her quirky vision ran like a bright thread throughout the episode.
The effervescence of Rasika’s victory is tempered by Dan’s disclosure, in the Stew Room, that he lives with Kennedy’s Disease, which affects his motor functions. His “weird” but “delicious” (according to Tom) clam and popcorn dish had required some plating assistance from Dan’s teammates. They, together with the other chefs, are sobered by his explanation and impressed by his resilience.
Team Yellow gets kudos for creatively melding the bar snacks into its dishes, with Kenny’s sour cream and onion potato-chip pavé a surprise crowd favorite. It’s evident when he presents his dish that somewhere between the grocery store and the kitchen, he found inspiration.
Team Red loses, with the least-favorite dishes being Kévin’s olives, Charly’s bland potato-chip crusted fish, and a too-thick corn soup that sends Valentine home. His bonhomie will be missed this season (unless he comes back through Last Chance Kitchen) but it’s a legit choice. In Wisconsin, you have to nail a corn dish.
• None Only two episodes in, we’ve learned that when Michelle says she’s never made (dish) or worked with (ingredient) before, it means she’s going to CRUSH IT.
• None The pictures of Amanda, resplendent in her cosplay/RPG raiment, are bringing us the Big Nerd Energy we didn’t know we needed.
• None Kenny’s deadpan malapropism at the judges’ table (“I had to twerk”) has entered contention for the sound bite of the season.
• None Valentine gently mocks Kevin with a Gallic “ho ho ho” that recalls the “Les Poissons” song from “The Little Mermaid.” The other chefs join in as if to say, WE KNOW, RIGHT?
Topics: Food & Drink