Top Chef ™
Baker:
Season:
Week:
Challenge Type:
Arctic Char Tartare
Cesar: "I'm working with cured arctic char. It's going to be a tartare with a turmeric custard and a fish tuile. Arctic char with a custard, I think is an interesting combination. I'm making a miniature CN Tower. I have this idea of plating my dish in, like, a tall glass, and that could represent CN Tower. Maybe, like you're breaking into it, shatter the glass, which is going to be a fish tuille. You're going to rescue the Arctic char. It's mission impossible."
Cesar: "See the custard? It's nice and rich and sweet. The turmeric gives it a really beautiful yellow color. To kind of balance a little bit of that sweetness from the custard, I'm doing dill and cilantro salsa, keeping it bright, keeping it acidic."
Presenting to Judges
Cesar: "This is a miniature TN tower. Your mission, judges, is to break into it through the fish tuile that's on top. Inside, you'll find arctic char. Your secret weapon is going to be sauce, so make sure to grab one. The arctic char is surrounded by a turmeric custard."
Judge: "What's the sweet taste in this?"
Cesar: "A little bit of romaine jam, and then there's a little sweetness in the custard."
Judges
"The oil from the tuile melted with the custard and failed to bring everything together."
"The fish was handled really nicely."
"Presentation was great, but it needed some acidity to cut through that sweetness. "
"Yeah. I found the tuile to be somewhat burnt, and mine's inconsistently cooked."
"I'm a big, sweet person, so when I tasted sweet, I was like, ooh. And the fish was good together. But I prefer my sweets after the fish course."
