Master pastry chefs step up their game for Season Two.
The start of the first season of Top Chef: Just Desserts worried me quite a bit last year because it was definitely on the ugly side of train wreck TV. Bravo knows how to do hot mess well with its Housewives and bad dating shows but their competition reality shows are classy. TC: JD wasn’t worrisome because of a wonky format or bad production value but because of the histrionics of contestant Seth Caro. A talented pastry chef, Caro was also a super dramatic attention stealer with his passing out and last second scrambling that threw off everyone’s baking mojo. Sure he was interesting, but his antics were at the expense of really watching masters do their pastry best on TV. However after he left, the show settled into its sweet spot (ha! Yes, I meant that) and became a show that I really enjoyed.
TC: JD is now back for a second season with host Gail Simmons and the returning roster of permanent judges including Johnny Iuzzini, Hubert Keller, and Dannielle Kyrillos. In the off-season, the producers obviously made a choice to amp up the serious in this show and back off from making this the cuter, fluffier version of its sister show, Top Chef. I for one love it and think the skills of the contestants deserve some serious respect for their art. I want to see the bakers wallop one another based on the merit of their awesome ganache skills, not because one of them forgot to take a Xanax with their tea.
In that spirit, Season Two kicks off on the right note at the Santa Monica pier with the newly acquainted contestants being told to pair up randomly to prepare a modern take on a soda fountain drink for their Quickfire Challenge. The first challenge is always tough on the competitors and the audience because everyone is still foreign and new. It is first impression time all around and basically what one gathers is that young Craig is a very nervous newbie and Amanda is pretty adamant about her pickled cherries. Good for her because Amanda’s cherry skills matched with Nelson’s wins them the first immunity of the season.
For the elimination round, all the bakers are again put into teams randomly based on a book with a fairy tale story inside. They must create a showpiece design on theme and then two edible desserts that encapsulate their fairy tale. Amanda and Nelson get to pick whatever team they want to be on which makes an inequity for two teams having less hands to complete the challenge. A bit unfair, but so be it.
As the teams plan and execute, an early standout is the self-appointed villain, Orlando. He’s clearly not a follower and he’s already got a rivalry in place with fellow baker, Chris. Newbie Craig also continues to bite off more than he can chew and makes his team lag behind on all parts of their showpiece for their Jack and the Beanstalk creation. There’s also some real tension between Melissa and Lina as they don’t see eye-to-eye on what baking elements should be used to make their Hansel & Gretel showpiece. Its all drama based on skill, or the lack thereof, which is fascinating.
In the end, the Little Red Riding teams wins for their intricate spun sugar Riding Hood figure and the depth and balance of their desserts. In the doghouse are Hansel & Gretel, which has a chocolate house but no gingerbread or candy accoutrements. Jack and the Beanstalk also gets demerits for being messy on the backside of their showpiece and for problems with their desserts.
The loser for the week is Hansel and Gretel’s Lina, who feels like Melissa threw her under the bus. Upset to be leaving so early, Melissa says goodbye as she packs up her gear for good.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.