‘Top Chef’ Season 11 recap: Alligators, a swamp, egos and knives, oh my

“Top Chef� season 11 kicked off Wednesday night in a swamp. There were alligators, frogs, a video of Padma Lakshmi dancing in the streets and Emeril Lagasse with a box of beignets. Oh yeah, this season’s in New Orleans.

The winning prizes are still the same: a feature in Food and Wine magazine, a showcase at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo., $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice and of course the title of Top Chef. And sweet-talking Aussie Curtis Stone is back judging with Lagasse, Tom Colicchio and Lakshmi.

The casting directors did a decent job of finding some characters with some serious cooking chops. Contestant/rockabilly girl Sara Johannes has worked for Wolfgang Puck; Carlos Gaytan earned a Michelin star at his Chicago restaurant Mexique; chatterbox Shirley Chung has worked with Thomas Keller, Mario Batali and Jose Andres; and Justin Devillier has been nominated for a James Beard award.

The competition started with all 19 contestants and some sweet digs in the city, minus the obligatory this-is-a-reality-TV-show bunk beds, of course. As the chefs sized up their competition, a few hot messes emerged. Jason Cichonski, now dubbed Ken (he actually believes he’s a Ken doll) is a chef from Pennsylvania who likes to run his hands through his hair. In between shots of him with his shirt off, he managed to tell viewers “Being voted as Philly’s sexiest chef was fun. People have a first impression of me as a douchebag, until I throw down my food.� At least he’s aware of how others perceive him.

And what would Ken be without a Barbie? Cut-off shorts-and-sandal-donning Janine Booth from Australia wants to make sure people don’t just see her as a pretty face. “The fact that I’m not so ugly usually is something I have to get people to overcome to respect me for my skills. There are a lot of dumb blondes out there, but I’m not one of them.� Let’s hope not, because you’ll be carrying a knife around in a swamp.

The chefs arrived at a swamp to cook their given proteins of alligator, frog legs and turtle for a party that arrived two hours later on a pontoon. After building their own kitchens, the chefs got to work pounding out their alligator meat with actual alligators swimming less than 10 feet away from their stations. All of the party guests were given Mardi Gras beads to give to their favorite chefs. The chefs with the most beads were up to win and those with the least were in the bottom.

Something new this year was the chefs getting to watch the judges discuss them live. While they all sat in a room, a TV came on to show the judges talking candidly about their performances.

Nina Compton, a chef from Saint Lucia, won the challenge with her curried turtle meatball with chayote sauce and chutney. Johannes also scored a lot of beads with her fiery sweet-and-sour alligator dish.

Ramon Bojorquez, a chef from Arizona. ended up going home for making a terrible mistake. He decided putting ice in his dashi to cool it down would be a good idea. Come on dude! Watering down what should be a concentrated liquid is never a good idea.

Best/worst moments:

If you blinked, you probably missed the two seconds of air time the show gave to L.A. chef Brian Huskey. And in those two seconds, he was on camera saying “Holy poop.�

Travis Masar: “I’m the white guy that cooks Asian food. I only date Asians.� Um, thanks for sharing?

Ken (Jason) cutting himself and taking a bad fall in the kitchen. I guess looks and coordination don’t automatically go together for some.

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