Top Chef ™

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Quickfire Challenge

The Top Chef ™ chefs were instructed to buy ingredients from the Dane County Farmers' Market BEFORE knowing what the challenge was going to be. Then they were introduced to the cooking of Carson Gulley, the head chef at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1926–1954, given a selection of his sauce recipes and tasked with making dishes pairing their ingredients with one of his sauces.

Kristen Kish: "When people talk about Madison, one of the very first things that may come to mind is the University of Wisconsin. Less well known is a man who served as a chef for the residence halls from the 1920s to the 1950s, chef Carson Gulley. He and his wife hosted their own cooking show. First African American couple to host a cooking show in the fifties. In 1949, Chef Gulley published his early recipes in his very first cookbook. It had recipes to make everything from meat and vegetable dishes to a variety of sauces. For your quick fire challenge, we want you to take a page from his book. Literally. In this recipe box, there are ten different sauce recipes that can be found in his cookbook, and we have all those ingredients in a limited pantry. Okay, we want to see your take on one of Chef Gully's sauces. You're going to make the sauce and pair that with the ingredients that you just bought at the market. Take inspiration from the sauce you chose, but put your own spin on it."

The winner went on to receive US$7,500. The guest judges were comedian W. Kamau Bell and chef/owner Tory Miller of L'Etoile in Madison.

The sauces were:

Creole Sauce (Charly) - Tomato based sauce with green peppers and onions, typically served with shrimp or other seafood

Spanish Sauce (Rasika) - Versatile Spicy Tomato Sauce made with a roux and paprika

Mustard Sauce (Savannah) - A sweet & spicy sauce that can be served hot or cold

Figaro Sauce (Manny) - Equal parts mayonnaise and tomato purée with thyme and bay leaf, typically served with fish

Egg Sauce (Amanda) - Hard boiled eggs, fish stock and roux base, intended for baked, broiled or boiled fish

Mushroom Sauce (Kevin) - Also known as Mushroom Gravy, made with mushroom, peppers, beef bouillon and milk

Cold Horseradish Sauce (Danny) - Whipped cream, fresh grated horseradish and salt. Dehydrated horseradish can be used if moistened with garlic vinegar.

Raisin Sauce (Michelle) - A sweet, vinegar-based sauce, typically served with ham

Tartar Sauce (Dan) - Mayonnaise based sauce with capers and pickles, typically served with fish.

Herb Sauce (Laura) - Parsley, chives and rosemary, simmered with onions and beef stock and typically served with game meat.

How the Top Chef ™ competitors teamed up

What the Top Chef ™ contestants prepared

Fingerling Potato with Honey & Tomato Chevre & Roasted Pepper Creole Sauce

Chef Charly: "I got some just roasted peppers and onions. That's going to be the base of my creole sauce. My favorite dish that my mom used to make was our creole chicken. That dish is still on my menu. It's not a dish that's ever going to come off. What I think I'm going to do is kind of baby baked potatoes, fill 'em up with a little bit of tomato chevre (goat's cheese). My mom passed away about 15 years ago. I have dreams about my mom talking about my success, and look what I've become. I graduated college. I'm working these great jobs. I know she'd be so proud of me. Her creole chicken, just, like, nostalgic dish that it means a whole lot to me. I'll add a little habanero for some heat."

Ched Charly (presenting to judges): "I have a fingerling potato with a honey and tomato chevre with a roasted pepper creole sauce."

Kristen Kish: "Was the sauce similar to the ones that you've grown up having?"

Chef Charly: "It's very similar to this, but instead of tomato powder, we use tomato paste."

Spanish Sauce Moroccan Stew with Bratwurst & Jalapeno Popcorn

Chef Rasika: "I love making shakshouka. So when I looked at the sauce that I had, it was perfect. I'm going to make it different. Maybe use some jalapeno popcorn. I think what they're looking for are risk takers, and that's what Top Chef ™ is. It's supposed to bring out that risky side of you. My brain automatically thinks out of the box."

Chef Rasika (presenting to judges): "I got Spanish sauce and made it into a tomato based Moroccan stew. And I topped it off with some beautiful jalapeno popcorn that I am found at the market."

Kristen Kish: "Well, that was very smart."

Fattoush Salad with Fried Tomatoes, Eggplant and Feta

Chef Laura: "I got herb sauce and I made a fattoush salad."

Kristen Kish: "It's got a little kick."

Chef Laura: "It has a little tabasco in it. Give it a pop to the salad."

Spinach and Feta Baked Eggs with Sweet and Sour Ground Cherry, Raisin and Ham Sauce

Chef Michelle: "I have Raisin Sauce, which is completely new to me. I'm choosing to go with a baked egg frittata because I purchased eggs in the market today. Egg frittata works well with this sauce because eggs are typically rich. A sauce that has some sweetness and tartness to it could cut through some of the richness. I may go for, like, a cherry raisin sauce. I'm not familiar with Chef Gully, but blazing trails in a space that has never been blazed before by a black person is always very inspirational to me."

Chef Michelle (presenting to judges): "Today I made a spinach and feta baked egg with a stone ground cherry, raisins and ham sauce."

Kristen Kish: "So when you started building the raisin sauce, did it remind you of anything?"

Chef Michelle: "I just got sweet and sour, so I just really tried to keep it with sweet and sour flavors. With the cherry, I threw some rhubarb in there, some ham."

Thai Salad with Coconut Egg Sauce and Sweet Pickles

Chef Amanda: "I chose Egg Sauce. It's got hard boiled eggs in it and roux and has fish stock in it. It's quite an unusual sauce. I'm going to introduce shrimp. I had the Thai direction going already, so I'm taking my sauce and doing a Thai inspired salad. I really wish that I had some limes or any other kind of citrus for acid. I really feel like it would bring this dish together, but I only have sweet pickles to utilize in lieu of fresh citrus."

Chef Amanda (presenting to judges): "I made Italian inspired salad, a coconut egg sauce. It's still made with a roux, but I added sweet pickles for acidity."

Kristen Kish: "So when you got the egg sauce, what were you thinking?"

Chef Amanda: "I actually don't love eggs, but I feel like eggs and fish sauce actually is a good combination."

Farmers Market Succotash with Tomato Sauce, Rainbow Trout and Kimchi

Chef Manny: "I got corn, squash, zucchini, so I'm going to make a succotash."

Chef Manny (presenting to judges): "Figueroa sauce reminded me of pomodoro. I made a succotash. Tossed in tomato sauce with rainbow trout."

Poached Egg with Tzigane Rahmschnitzel

Chef Kevin: "I have a mushroom sauce. My plan was to make a shakshouka, and of course, I have the mushroom sauce. It doesn't go very well together, so I'm going to twist it a little bit with something my mom used to make. It's a rahmschnitzel. Just need to peel my pepper. Schnitzel normally has breaded meat, so it's, like, crunchiness. But because I don't have any meat, I'm just gonna do some crouton on the top. Of course, with the eggs, you want the texture."

Chef Kevin (presenting to judges): "I have the mushroom sauce, and this is poached egg rahmschnitzel."

Salad with Mustard and Peach Vinaigrette, Poached Egg, Plums, Peaches and Ground Cherries

Chef Savannah (presenting to judges): "I got mustard sauce, but I wanted to do a light version of that, so I did a mustard and peach vinaigrette with a poached egg. Plums, peaches, ground cherry. I just wanted to highlight the mustard spice by balancing it with enough sweetness."

Diced Grilled Vegetable Salad with Fried bread and Fried Egg Aioli with Capers

Chef Dan (presenting to judges): "I made a diced grilled vegetable salad with fried bread. My sauce was tartar sauce. So I did a fried egg aioli with the capers, fish sauce and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce."

Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad with Yogurt and Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce

Chef Danny (behind the scenes): "Cold horseradish sauce is what I have. I'm hoping to take Chef Gully's recipe and just kind of put my twist on it. I'm thinking about goat cheese and horseradish."

Culinary Learnings from this challenge

What is succotash?

Succotash is a North American (Native American) vegetable dish consisting primarily of sweet corn with plenty of vegetables and beans - typically lima beans. It is typically served hot, but is delicious cold, too. It isn't spicy - flavor traditionally comes from salt, pepper, thyme and other garden herbs. Garlic is optional, but adds a great kick.

What is Fattoush?

Fattoush is a "bread salad," said to have originated in Northern Lebanon. Lebanese farmers would fry leftover pita scraps in olive oil for extra flavor and add any seasonal vegetables and herbs they had available.

What is Shakshouka?

Shakshouka is a Maghrebi dish of poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, bell peppers, caramlized onion, and garlic, traditionally spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper.

What is Rahmschnitzel?

Rahmschnitzel is a classic German dish that consists of breaded and pan-fried pork or veal cutlets, topped with a rich and creamy cream sauce. The term “Rahm” in German refers to cream, so the dish is basically schnitzel (breaded meat) with a creamy sauce. The cutlets are typically tenderized, breaded, and then fried before being covered in cream sauce.

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