The other night we watched the first episode of Top Chef Canada. I was pretty excited to see chef Connie DeSousa, whom I met at the delicious Charcut Roast House in Calgary last summer (I believe she actually made something like the Portuguese sausage pictured in the middle of this charcut plate for the elimination challenge), facing off against Vancouver's (and Lumière's and DB Bistro's) Dale MacKay in the quickfire challenge.
We had our own little quickfire challenge here: some sad leftover coconut curry soup I made where I accidentally added two cups too many of vegetable broth, vs. Jay's contribution of sourdough bread with slices of Dubliner cheese. Jay won it with the Dubliner, a cheese that, to quote Wikipedia, "combines the sharpness of mature cheddar, the nuttiness of Swiss cheese, and the bite of Parmesan."
As for the show. It's quite Top Chef-y as Top Chefs go. Thea Andrews is a lovely and confident host, and I think the editing and camera work is actually better in the Canadian version. But while Mark McEwan seems to know his stuff, I still felt the absence of everyone's favourite bald man, the charming head judge of the American series, Chef Tom Colicchio. For those going through withdrawal, I present to you A Day In The Life Of Tom Colicchio.
Oh Tom... He's sexier bald (but he could bring back the scruff with no complaints from yours truly)
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