Country Ham Cheese Puff
As seen on TV
Which Show?
Who made this dish?
Duyen's first-course option is a savoury cheese puff (essentially a French gougere) with country ham folded directly into the choux batter and a hot pimento cheese mornay sauce in the centre, so the puff bursts open when bitten.
Pickled mustard seeds dot the top for sharp acid.
Sherry's tableside intro: "Also for the starter is a cheese puff. The batter has been folded with country ham, and then in the centre is a sauce mornay."
Notably, Duyen did not test a single one before service - Tom called this out tableside. Duyen: "Did not... Tom, come on, let's be real here. Who has time to goddamn test anything right now?" The dish helped clinch her individual win.
{Tom}: "The flavor's great. The liquid cheese in the center. I actually like a lot."
{Tom}: "Loved it." {Gail}: "The flavor's great. The pimento cheese, the country ham. Good start."
{Kristen}: "I made a mess."
{Tom}: "It's a sign of a good meal."
Judges' table - {Claire}: "Yeah, I thought they were delicious. They were perfectly formed. I love the pop of mustard."
{Tom}: "I also just wanted to comment real quickly on your front-of-house work. I thought the greeting was just really wonderful. You talked about the restaurant and left it at that as a really nice touch."
