As episode 2 of “Top Chef Just Desserts” got underway, fans learned that Rebecca hurt herself at home after the last challenge. They watched as the doctor told her about her injury and as she vowed to keep going. It’ll be interesting to see how well she does with an injury.
The quickfire:
In the quickfire, Gail Simmons and guest star Margaret Braun challenge the contestants to create a new and unusual dessert using lemons. They had 45 minutes to come up with their dish, prepare it, and plate it for judging. At the end of the 45 minutes, everyone had finished except Nelson, who just ran out of time plating. Luckily, for him, he had something on the plate for the judges to taste. In the end, Margaret Braun chose Nelson, Orlando, and Amanda as her least favorites, and Matthew, Katzie, and Carlos as her favorites. Matthew was named the winner and was granted immunity.
The Challenge:
In the elimination challenge the contestants were split into four teams. As each member was chosen it became clear that no one wanted Melissa because she threw Lina under the bus last week. In this challenge, the contestants would have two days to make a cake inspired by the opening of the 9th Season Orchestra of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Each member of the team would be responsible for one layer of the cake. They would have eight hours the first day and four on the second day to complete a fantastic cake.
During the challenge Melissa was eager to show everyone that she has what it takes to make awesome desserts. However, Matthew was very concerned Melissa’s spice cake wasn’t going to be a hit with the judges. Amanda was on the blue team and was concerned about their overall design, she mentioned that she thought their team forgot to “hit the edit button.” Nelson, who was on the black team, was concerned about his cake layer supporting Craig’s layer. He decided to add more columns to support the weight. Despite some issues all four teams were about to present a finished cake to the judges
The judging:
The green and red teams were up first for judging, and were the judges favorites. While the judges thought the green team’s cake was well made and cohesive, this wasn’t their challenge to win. The win went to the red team. Despite Matthew’s concerns about Melissa’s cake layer, the judges really liked it.
Next, it was time for the blue and black teams to stand in front of the judges. The judges thought the blue team’s cake was on the right track, but shared Amanda’s thoughts about it being overdesigned. They found the cake to be amateur and visually weak. The black team didn’t fair any better. The judges pointed out that they were only team to have something break on their cake, their layers were completely disconnected, and Orlando’s cake was too dense. In the end, it was the blue team that lost and the judges sent Vanarin home. They thought his cake was very amateur.
It will be interesting to see if Nelson and Amanda can return to the winners circle next week, after finishing in the bottom of both challenges this week. Fans are eager to see what these two chefs can do if they are on the same team.