Top Chef ™

Top Chef ™ Challenge Type:

Elimination

Seafood Paella on a table

Danny: "This is my version of a paella. I've got some black rice that's been tossed with a piquillo pepper puree. I saw this as a big canvas. Thought of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a lot of his work. He'll start and then paint over with black, which is basically where the black rice came into play. The border is several different purees. There's black garlic, there's zucchini, and then there's a creme fraiche, all to tie into everything on top."

Judges' Comments

"I do love the border. When it first was presented, I thought, where's the sauce? And then I realized that's actually the sauce. It gets beautiful."

"I also think it's very clever with the white space, which I think adds to the sort of artfulness of the presentation."

"Almost, like framed. Really thoughtful."

"Very."

"And it tastes pretty good."

"It does. And it complements everything. The texture of the rice is really fantastic."

"Yeah. The seafood's all really nicely cooked."

"Off to a good start."