Top Chef season 22 episode 5 recap: The competition moves to restaurants across Toronto while two contestants get eliminated

Episode 5 of Top Chef season 22 was out on April 10. Instead of having the customary Quick Fire round, the episode saw the contenders taking over the kitchens of local restaurants across Toronto.

The Destination Canada-themed season had previously seen challenges that were an ode to the extensive Canadian cuisine. This episode peeked into the restaurant industry of the country, as the contestants prepared over 150 dishes of food.

The contestants were first divided into teams of two. Corwin paired up with Kat, Katianna with Caesar, Vinny with Lana, Shuai with Henry, and Paula with Massimo. Bailey, who eliminated in a previous episode, made a return under the Last Chance Kitchen segment and paired up with Tristen.

While Kat and Corwin got a Portuguese restaurant, Katianna and Caesar's pair were assigned a Thai restaurant, and Shuai and Henry took up a Filipino diner. Vinny and Lana got an Indian restaurant, while Paula and Massimo went for a Caribbean place. Tristen and Bailey cooked at a Greek place.

After they all were done cooking, the judges did the tasting and decided it was Corwin and Kat's team that was to be eliminated.

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The chefs took over the restaurants of Toronto in Top Chef season 22, episode 5

Kat and Corwin were cooks for a Portuguese restaurant called Mercado. These two tried backwards engineering the dishes, rather than trying to come up with something new— something which was their own rendition. After a bit of brainstorming, they decided on making salt cod with arancini.

On the other hand, Katianna and Caesar, alongside Bailey and Tristen, risked making their own fusion out of the cuisines they were assigned. At the Thai restaurant called Kiin, Katianna dyed her daikon flowers purple while Caesar made Thai-glazed pork. Bailey, at her restaurant called Soulas Modern Greek, made an olive tapenade caramel, while her partner Tristen grilled a brined octopus. He grooved as he cooked and said:

"If I had sandals and a beer, I’d be in a good place right now."

At the BB's Filipino Diner, Shuai and Henry weren't able to perfect their plan as they confused themselves over the many condiments they were using. Massimo got nervous at his restaurant, Miss Likklemore's.

Despite Paula's refusal to not take the lid off of a cooking short rib, he took it off because he thought his meat wouldn't cook through. This rattled Paula, but Massimo eventually apologized to her.

When it came to Vinny and Lana's rendezvous at the Indian restaurant Dil Se, they aced it. They took the restaurant's signature dish, Chicken Kamasutra, and gave it their own spin.

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The judges' reactions to the dishes and Kat and Corwin's elimination in Top Chef season 22, episode 5

Sara Bradley, one of the Top Chef judges, confirmed that Bailey's dish tasted as good as it looked. When it came to Henry and Shuai, Gail and Sara both complimented the way the dish tasted, but Kristen asked Tom if he thought the meat was properly cooked.

When it came to Vinny's "curry hollandaise," the judges thought that it got buried under another sauce. The judges also called them out for trying to recreate something they did in the past because it hadn't landed.

"You’re looking for Top Chef; you’re not looking for Top Worked for a Bunch of People and Are Redoing Their Dishes," Sara said.

Kat and Corwin were eliminated because the arancini they made resembled a "wet fritter." The judges also called the dish "watery", "mushy," and "gummy". Their dish, unfortunately, didn't showcase their complete potential, and they were sent home.

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New episodes of Top Chef season 22 come out on Thursdays, at 9 pm ET, on Bravo.