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Popular reality competition series Top Chef season 20 aired a brand new episode on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo. It documented the remaining contestants competing against each other in challenges and creating incredible dishes to impress the judges. They hoped to give their best foot forward and secure their safety. While some successfully managed to do so, others failed.
On this week's episode of the series, Nicole Gomes from Top Chef Canada was eliminated from the competition after the toughest restaurant wars challenge. The Canadian resident won season 5: All Stars of the franchise in the country. She will now have to compete in the Last Chance Kitchen for one final shot to potentially re-enter the show.
The hit Bravo franchise has been on their air for a long time and has established itself to be a lendary franchise. Over the years, many contestants who have made their debut on the show have gone to become successful established chefs. Season 20 of the competition saw winners and finalists from several Top Chef franchises all over the world compete for a second shot at the title.
Top Chef contestant Nicole Gomes has over two decades of culinary experience
Chef Nicole Gomes resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was crowned the winner of Top Chef Canada season 5: All Stars. According to her Bravo bio, she is the chef, co-founder and owner at Cluck ‘N’ Cleaver, a chicken joint in Calgary, Canada.
The restaurant is jointly operated by Nicole and her sister sister Francine. The bio stated that they serve fried and rotisserie chicken made from scratch with all the natural ingredients. They also "pride themselves on cultivating an inclusive and positive work environment."
The Top Chef contestant has 28 years of experience in the culinary industry and is considered to be one of the best chefs in Canada. To gain more experience, Nicole has traveled widely over the world, including Paris and even one of Sydney's naval bases.
From working as a Junior Sous Chef in 1999 to being the chef of her own restaurant now, Nicole has surely come a long way to establish herself as a legend in the culinary scene. The chef is no stranger to reality shows or to the level of intense competition as she has appeared on several other reality cooking competitions, including Firemasters, Iron Chef Gauntlet and Beat Bobby Flay.
By winning the Canadian Top Chef, Nicole became the first woman to earn the title of "Top Chef Canada Champion."
For the restaurant wars challenge tonight, the chef was in a team of four with Victorie, Gabrie and Tom. The team decided to showcasing their Roots in the challenge, considering the diversity of the team. Nicole wanted to interpret roots into dishes that went with their personal culinary roots.
The Top Chef team received 1,000 pounds at specialty stores and 2,000 pounds at Whole Foods to shop for their ingredients. Their team alreay lagged behind after Tom and Victorie forgot an entire basket of vegetables from the store.
For the challenge, they were already given the restaurant infrasture unlike previous staple challenges where they had to build one from scratch. They were given three-Michelin-star chef Clare Smyth's restaurant Core. Check out what menu the Root team came up with.
- First course: Leek and chestnut (Tom)
- Second course: Shellfish tortellini (Nicole)
- Third course: Sea bream huatape (Gabri)
- Fourth course: Tiramisu (Victoire)
Nicole faced issues with her toretellini on the restaurant day at Top Chef. They had seeped in the moisture and she had to start all over again. She also struggled with her pasta course which eventually led to a long waiting time for the judges and the diners.
Her dish was received with mixed reactions from judges. While the judges liked her flavors, they were disappointed with the execution of the pasta, which they felt was thick and uneven. Nicole was ultimately eliminated from the competition.
Season 20 of Top Chef has been a pretty intense watch so far. As the installment progresses, the remaining chefs will have to prove their mettle to be considered worthy of winning the title. Viewers will have to stay tuned to see what's more in store for them this season.
Don't forget to tune in to a brand new episode next Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
