Top Chef: Wisconsin Episode Three Recap: How Austin's Chefs Did It

Best boss Season 21 airs Wednesday nights on Bravo, and Eater Austin recaps the progress of the home teams in Wisconsin each week. In recent weeks, cheese-centric Elimination Challenge Amanda Turner of Southern Restaurant Olamaie was safe with his Mount Raclette arancini. Kvin DAndrea from the French bakery Foliepops once again fell to the bottom, this time with disappointing Brie croquettes.

In The best chefs In the fourth episode, the contestants team up to take on an architecture-inspired challenge, and the two Austinites build a solid foundation for themselves.

It Takes Two to Make Something Happen Wright in the Elimination Challenge

We're picking up from the end of last week's cheese party. There will be no Quickfire this week, Kish announces. The Chiefs need to pack their bags for a road trip from Milwaukee to Madison.

This week, the Elimination Challenge will take participants along the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail, where they will be inspired by the work of famous architects. They must form teams of two and create a pair of dishes that reflect a certain duality. Wright's designs often played with the compression/release duality, says judge Tom Colicchio.

DAndrea partners with Denver chef Manny Barella. Due to their mutual elimination last week, they nickname themselves the Power Bottoms as we spit out our drink. Turner, meanwhile, is teaming up with Milwaukee boss Dan Jacobs.

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After their tour, the chefs will prepare dinner at Riverview Terrace Restaurant, the only restaurant Wright has ever designed. Twice Best boss winner Buddha Lo and renowned French chef Dominique Crenn will serve as guest judges. This excites DAndrea, who crossed paths with Crenn when he was on Best boss In France. I really want to cook the best meal of my life tomorrow, he said.

Turner communes with the sea, while DAndrea embraces the darkness

The Wright tour begins at Burnham Block, which reminds Turner of Shinsho-ji Temple in Japan. The openness of the interior space reminds me of Flava, she says.

At Monona Terrace, the chefs were struck by the circular pattern and the connection between land and sea. Turner asked their guide about Wright's birthday, June 8, 1867. A Gemini, Turner said.

At the iconic Taliesin, chefs travel to Wright's drafting studio where they plan their dishes. Turner and Jacobs see an opportunity to speak out against economic injustice and inequality. They land on a poverty/wealth duality for their meal deal. Jacobs begins to think about peasant foods like potatoes, while Turner considers the sea as a source of decadent ingredients.

Meanwhile, D'Andrea and Barella reflect on their own contrasts. Where Barella is light, I certainly have a darkness within me, says DAndrea. They roll with the light/dark duality, with Barella preparing savory stuffed pasta and DAndrea eyeing a sweet chocolate dessert.

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After a trip to Whole Foods, the chefs bond. Turner and Jacobs have many nerdy interests in common and nickname each other Damanda. New York chef Rasika Venkatesa points out that DAndrea and Barella are polar opposites in terms of personality. That’s why they work so well together, DAndrea says.

Then it’s cooking time. I ran an Italian restaurant for four years, Turner says, probably referring to East Austins Juniper. She makes pasta in her fancy seafood dish. Team Damanda shares a cute moment of camaraderie when Turner helps Jacobs use liquid nitrogen to freeze the components of his dish.

As burly Barella prepares his own pasta dish, he shakes the table he shares with DAndrea. I work with a linebacker, says DAndrea. The French chef prepares a pretty, sexy tuile to accompany his chocolate mousse.

Finally, judging this doesn't make Austin fans sweat.

At the judges' table, Turner presents his opulent dish: angel hair pasta with scallops, caviar, kombu oil and seafood broth. The complement inspired by Jacobs' hardships is a cannoli leeks with potato mousse, potato tuille, pickles and kombu salad. The judges praise the cook for the seafood and pasta, but they are mixed on the cannoli. Kish thinks the team overthought the presentation.

David Moir/Bravo

Later, D'Andrea and Barella present their dishes. D'Andrea and Crenn greet each other warmly. He says it's very nice to see her in Wisconsin.

Barella, the bringer of light, presents chicken and mushroom fiori with a vin jaune chicken sauce. D'Andrea, the prince of darkness, serves a warm chocolate praline mousse, a bitter chocolate tuile and Mexican vanilla ice cream. The judges love the elegance and textures of the dessert. Kish says DAndrea finally executed her project with ease after a few difficult weeks. Barella, however, does not impress the judges with his technique.

The judges say they have clear winning and losing teams. Venkatesa and Brooklyn chef Danny Garcia are victorious. Venkatesa embraced her Tamil roots and prepared a dal quenelle with pickled beets, carrot puree and rasam (essentially a South Asian Consommé), while Garcia served a mousse of scallops, zucchini and green chartreuse . The team splits $10,000, but only Venkatesa gets immunity for next week.

Kish chokes back tears and tells Chicago chefs Alisha Elenz and Kaleena Bliss to pack their knives and leave. Elenz's shrimp aguachile and Bliss's mushroom and goat cheese cheesecake were riddled with technical errors, according to the judges.

That means the Austin delegation is safe for another week. What a relief.

Kish and Lo stop to talk to the remaining leaders. They're not going to sugarcoat things.

The food just wasn't up to par, Kish says. She urges chefs to do whatever they need to do to last in the competition.

Next week: Chefs buying ingredients before knowing what the challenge is, a supper club and Turner says it's all weird. Hmm.

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