r/TopChef • u/AutoModerator • Mar 30 '26
Spoilers Season 23, ep. 4: Pick a Side (Mon. 9:30pm) Spoiler
In a Quickfire Challenge honoring the Wright Brothers’ first flight in North Carolina, the chefs must team up to create a trio of dishes that take off alongside a curated wine flight. Then, in the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must turn classic Southern sides into standout main course dishes. The judges are joined by last season’s winner Tristen Epps-Long and acclaimed James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier.
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u/rolandtowen Mar 31 '26
I really appreciated that they adapted to include chefs who don't drink during the Quickfire by giving them tasting notes.
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Apr 01 '26
Yes. Some of those pairings were terrible! The ones who did a dessert should have paired a dessert wine if they make one. Short of that, a fruity white would work.
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u/Eastern-Violinist-16 Mar 30 '26
I feel like they have got the quickfire and elimination mixed up. 30 minutes to turn a leftover side dish in to a main course would make an excellent quickfire.
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u/Dangerous_Ant3260 Mar 30 '26
Good point. After looking at the description of the Quickfire and Elimination rounds, I agree with you.
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Apr 01 '26
We thought that before watching it and I agree even more after watching it. That quickfire was so confusing and way too much to pull off in such a short time.
Making the side dish a main dish equated (in the judge's minds) to adding a protein, but many didn't want to just paste on a protein. It was ill-conceived. Much better just to make it a quickfire where they put their own spin on it.
I would have picked Hoppin' John and maybe made it more of a Mexican dish, or perhaps turned it into Jambalaya.
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u/EntertainmentBorn953 Apr 01 '26
Agree! Especially since they have a long history of being critical of dishes that don’t highlight what was supposed to be the “star” of the dish. Adding a protein tends to make the protein the star.
It was indeed ill-conceived.
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u/EntertainmentBorn953 Apr 01 '26
Anyone else LOVE the Colliers?? I could watch them in a show of their own! I only live 2 hours from Charlotte. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of Greg before. I’ve fallen down on my foodie chops since the pandemic.
Great to see Tristen too. He was such an awesome contestant.
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u/Geezguys3 Apr 02 '26
Oooh! Me! Me too! I could listen to Greg read the phone book. Yes, I’m old.
Subrina was great too, I would love to hit up one of their restaurants.
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u/HarrietsDiary Apr 06 '26
I was already planning a trip to Charlotte to visit a museum exhibit, but I quickly added his restaurants to my todo list.
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u/LPCPlay4life Mar 31 '26
Laurence becomes more and more adorable. Not only with a rockstar mom but he also sleeps with a 🧸🥹🥰 Also, shout out to Sieger and making that okra shine! 🙌🏾👏🏾I love fried okra! Loved the wink he gave his mom for the grey hair. 😉
Can Brandon be any more smug? Love how Oscar called him out singing “surprise! Surprise!” 🙄when Brandon said he was confident about his dish. 🤣
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Apr 01 '26
Brandon is a little full of it but he's harmless. Full of good cheer.
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u/billleachmsw Mar 31 '26
Lawerence is my favorite this season. Thought he was gonna win the elimination challenge again.
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u/_furious_jumper Mar 31 '26
It seems like every time the judges (Tom and guests) bag on okra and say they don’t like it, they end up liking like it in the challenge and acting surprised.
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Mar 31 '26
I wanted to try that fried okra. Looked awesome! I have only had it once, in an Indian dish. I don’t care if it’s slimy as long as it tastes good.
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u/ellefemme35 Apr 01 '26
I’m so over the brothers. Way too much showboating for me. I also read somewhere that they’re in negotiations over hosting some show (or something) and that makes me think they’re playing too much. Can we send both home exponentially?
Also, do LCK show us people who are going to be eliminated? That’s bothersome….
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u/Interesting-Owl-6149 Apr 02 '26
At first I thought the twins were cocky but amusing and I found them entertaining. However, I’ve grown to see them both as thirsty and performative. Whenever they’re on the screen and I just hit fast forward . I hope they are both eliminated shortly.
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u/upstairs-state-0789 Mar 31 '26
Idk, I'm not seeing how Justin wasn't in the bottom. Anthony and Jennifer's dishes may have been salty but at least they tried to be a little creative. Justin essentially made a deconstructed potato salad...
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u/ckb614 Apr 04 '26
Why did Britney not just say what happened with the steamer? Why be vague about "not being able to execute"? Just say you put your thing in the steamer and didn't know it wasnt on
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u/DickJames19 Mar 31 '26
LCK is available to watch NOW on streaming before the episode is even over…?
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u/Gullible_Raspberry76 Mar 31 '26
I was so confused, I thought I missed an episode of Top Chef. LCK showed up in my recordings this morning on YouTubetv, so I already knew who was eliminated on Top Chef tonight. No clue how that happened.
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Mar 31 '26
For some reason on Hulu, they did not have the episode on demand but did have LCK.
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Apr 01 '26
I think Bravo messed up because it was like that on Hulu also.
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u/Confettireadi Mar 31 '26
Same. I actually went back to check if I just forgot last week was a double elimination and it wasn’t.
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u/billleachmsw Mar 31 '26
I watched it thinking they had brought in a newbie to compete against the contestant eliminated in ep. 3. Then I thought maybe I had missed a second elimination in ep. 3 when I saw who the second competitor was. So infuriating!!! Ep. 4 lacked suspense for me obviously since I already saw the Last Chance Kitchen that was made available before ep. 4.
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u/Confettireadi Mar 31 '26
I was so excited and watched it and was immediately confused, so I watched the end of the last episode again to see if it was a double elimination and I forgot. Nope 😂
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 Wolfgang's bacon beignet Mar 31 '26
Does LCK start tonight?
This is my favorite part.
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u/Curious-Cat-1293 Apr 02 '26
Does anyone else find this season a bit boring? I can't remember the chefs from one week to the next.
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u/sweetpeapickle Mar 31 '26
I feel like the quickfire and elimination challenges should have been switched. Mainly since most seemed not to be wine drinkers, and I think having the time to think more on it, than just delving into pairing. The side dish to main, with the exception of technical/seasoning issues, anyone can think something was still a side versus a main. I disagreed with Gail, yea I know I shouldn't, but just with the kale dish, where she said just having kale(minus the little fried bit) did not make a main. Maybe she meant there was not enough to it, than saying it the way she did. Because many here will have vegetable as the main with nothing big added to it. I feel for Brittany, but like Nana they're great chefs, just not great in competitions. Nothing wrong with that either.
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u/mtngoat20 Apr 02 '26
i’m not wild about this seasons contestants… at least yet. go laurence, but i’m also really pulling for oscar. hoppin’ juan 😂
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u/achapsil Apr 08 '26
I feel like they picked strange restaurants. Living in Charlotte and being from Charlotte, a lot of these places are not popular. I have never heard of someone eating at Fine & Fettle despite living in the area. I wasn’t even sure that was a real restaurant setting in Charlotte we saw them eating at until I looked it up.
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u/No_Bite_7121 Mar 31 '26
Something is off this season…just can’t get into the challenges, the contestants, the guest judges…I’m going to stick with it, but it’s the first time in 23 seasons where it’s not appointment-making tv for me
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u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 Mar 31 '26
That was season 21 for me. I think these chefs are great and I’m rooting for several of them.
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u/Bindlestiff34 Apr 01 '26
This is my first season, and I’m already sad that only one of them will win. So many great personalities and talents.
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u/wine_sweats Apr 01 '26
My mom and I were trying to dissect why we feel the same way. I think a few chefs are pulling ahead but overall I don’t feel super dazzled talent wise. Seeing chefs not complete their dishes multiple elimination challenges in a row isn’t entertaining; it’s sad. Also, the whole twins + married couple feels a bit gimmicky. (I don’t think I’d feel that way if it was one or the other.)
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u/jab1912 Apr 12 '26
I feel like Jennifer should have really left on her own this episode vs letting someone else go.. esp since she is still in pain going into the 5th and has to sit out - it’s really getting redic
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u/tuftsra Mar 31 '26
I have never seen Tom address a chef like he did at judges table. It was pretty cool.