Grandma's Gravy Saves the Day on 'Top Chef All-Sta

Grandma's Gravy Saves the Day on 'Top Chef All-Stars' - Slashfood
Photo: David Giesbrecht / BravoWe were filled with anxiety when we turned on Bravo this week. After all, with a haute-cuisine wizard like Dale down, the title of "Top Chef All-Star" is anyone's to lose. And when the episode began with Antonia reminiscing about her lovely daughter back home, it filled us with fear. Not you, Antonia! Anyone but you,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]!But maybe we had it wrong. This was, after all, an Ellis Island-themed episode -- they'd be cooking family dishes -- so maybe Antonia's family tale was just part of the theme. No need to worry, right?Not just yet. After a Quickfire challenge in which our cheftestants were restricted to just the junk food on the ferry (which meant Richard "piled 14 things on a hot dog," according to Carla), it was clear this might be a tough evening. And maybe, like Carla's take on an orange-rosemary salad, simplicity would win out in the end.We were then treated to a few familial reunions and revelations: Moms, husbands and wives joined the chefs on the island and combed through genealogist-approved reports on each contestant's background. And while there was the usual "I didn't know my great-grandpa was a chemist!" stuff, there was a pretty big bombshell revealed.Antonia and Mike, the Italian-American firebrands who have been at each other's throats most of the season -- farting, insulting, sneering at each other -- are long-lost cousins! And with that, they went from two people highly annoyed with each other to, well, two people who finally understood why they felt a deep-seated, non-romantic desire to annoy one another.The family secrets didn't end there -- they were woven into the dishes themselves. Mike made his grandma's seared gnocchi and gravy -- and cried when he presented it to the judges, who ate it all up (both the food and the story). Richard seemed to strain to find an Anglo-American backstory to tie together his potatoes,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], corn puree, braised short ribs and pickled sea beans, but no matter -- the judges were wowed by his dish.Carla and Tiffany presented different takes on soul food: The former with perfectly crispy grits, Cheddar biscuits and the "best gravy of the season," the latter with oxtail and deep-fried, un-slimy okra (which was so good, it even converted okra-hater Tom).And Antonia dared to make that third-rail of Top Chef dishes: risotto. But she pulled it off perfectly, presenting a dish that had just the right balance of broth and veggies --complete with a tender braised rib on top. In an evening of soul and fire,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], it was the most passionate in addition to being the most perfectly executed, and for that, she walked away with a spot in the Bahamas finale.So if Antonia was the best of an excellent bunch, who was the worst? We scoured the editing for clues: Carla's corn was a hair undercooked, Richard's plate "didn't have enough green"... But these nit-picks were just that -- the judges shocked us all by sending all five contestants on to the finale. We almost shed a tear ourselves, realizing this was probably the last time they'd be civil to one another before the real pain of eliminations starts.Get more info on "Top Chef All-Stars" from AOL Television.
The exclusionThe head teacher wrote to the parents of R and F telling them that neither R nor F could come back to school, but that they would be given help in completing their course at home. He should, of course, have told the parents immediately, ideally by telephone followed by a letter, of their right to make representations to the governing body.

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