Zach Laidlaw successfully tackled the tropical island seafood challenge on Thursday’s episode of “Next Level Chef,” and his team did well enough to remain in the middle-level kitchen for next week’s episode.
“This challenge couldn’t be more me. I live on an island,” said the Elgin Community College-trained chef, who’s the executive chef at Hua Momona Farms on Maui.
Laidlaw’s career has included time working in the Caribbean, so the 34-year-old put that experience to good use in preparing a butter-poached lobster with chorizo and coconut that impressed the three celebrity chef judges. Gordon Ramsay called it was a fine dining moment.
The choice for the best dish of the night came down to Laidlaw’s lobster and a Jamaican jerk tuna dish prepared in the basement level by professional chef Von Smith, whose team is mentored by celebrity chef Nyesha Arrington.
Chef Richard Blais, mentor of Laidlaw’s team, and Arrington had a heated exchange over whose dish was better, Laidlaw’s or Smith’s.
Arrington said Laidlaw’s lobster was for the “1 percenters,” meaning it was something only the most wealthy people could afford or expect to be served. Blais countered that when people go on vacation to a tropical island, they want to be treated like 1 percenters.
Ramsay cast the deciding vote for Smith, allowing his team to remain in the top-level kitchen, which gives them first access to the best ingredients and equipment.
Laidlaw’s teammate, professional chef Angela Pagan, created one of the two worst dishes of the night. Her chili prawns underwhelmed the judges.
To remain on the show, Pagan competed against home chef Wendy Bess Chui, whose mahi mahi caught fire at one point and featured a sweet, smoothie-like sauce.
In the elimination round, Pagan prepared a pork loin with mashed potatoes and a wine sauce. It beat the cut-off-the-bone pork chop served with cauliflower and salsa made by Chui, who was eliminated from the competition.
Judging from the previews, next week’s challenge will involve a platform that moves so quickly that the chefs will have a hard time grabbing ingredients.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.