Tom Colicchio Proves Once and for All He Can Nail Any Top Chef Challenge
The Bravo's Top Chef: All Stars L.A. head judge showed how he would handle some of this season's toughest challenges.
Week after week on Bravo's Top Chef: All Stars L.A., the cheftestants are faced with Quick Fire and elimination challenges that force them to think outside of the box, testing far more than just their basic culinary skills. In the What Would Tom Do? episodes above, head judge Tom Colicchio took on six of the most unique challenges from this season so far and shared what he would have done if he was the one competing on the show.
As seen in the videos, with help (and hilarious commentary) from Nilou Motamed, Tom not only faced the challenges head on, but absolutely nailed them to create mouth-watering meals. Scroll down for each of Tom's incredible dishes and watch the videos above for a step-by-step guide on how to prepare them at home!
Grilled Oysters with Compound Butter
The season's premiere episode featured the contestants tasked with cooking seafood on the beach using fire as their only source of heat. In his own take on the challenge, Tom opted to make grilled oysters with compound butter. The meal got the seal of approval from Nilou, who declared: "You got so much flavor."
Get the full recipe here.
Delicata Squash Agnolotti with Chanterelles and Brown Butter
"If you're gonna eat your veggies, might as well mix them with pasta," Tom said of his dish when taking on the challenge of creating one of six courses in a progressive vegetarian menu using fresh produce.
Get the full recipe here.
Eggplant Relish with Roasted Eggplant and Lamb Chops
After Tom's eggplant relish "became an instant hit at home," he decided to whip it up when taking on the challenge of creating a signature specialty product and building a dish to highlight it. To complement the relish, Tom added roasted eggplant and lamb chops, but noted it could "go on a lot of different things."
Get the full recipe here.
Sea Trout with Lentils and Cabbage
Challenged to recreate a restaurant meal guided only by Nilou's description over the phone, Tom got to work on the fish dish she detailed. Ultimately, as seen in one of the videos above, he was successful. "I feel like this dish is a real testament to my powers of description," Nilou said. "And your powers of cooking."
Get the full recipe here.
Bittersweet Roasted Beet, Artichoke & Radicchio Salad
"I know that beets are inherently sweet, radicchios are inherently bitter. So I thought this was a really cool way to highlight these flavors and ingredients," Tom said when creating a roasted beet, artichoke, and radicchio salad when taking on the challenge to highlight two flavor profiles in one cohesive dish.
Get the full recipe here.
Grilled King Crab & Uni With Uni Beurre Blanc
On a recent Top Chef episode, the cheftestants were responsible for creating one of six courses in a progressive kaiseki meal. Although Tom noted in a What Would Tom Do? episode above that he's "not a Japanese chef," if faced with the same challenge, he would "take those Japanese ingredients and use them the way I would cook." Although varying slightly from his usual culinary choices, Tom explained of the final meal: "I've done a version of this crab and uni dish for probably 20 years now."
Get the full recipe here.
Watch the videos above to see Tom take on each of the unique challenges!
Want more Top Chef? New episodes air every Thursday at 10/9c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.
