On November 28, 2012, the fourth episode of Top Chef: Seattle airs on the Bravo television network. Filmed at Canlis restaurant, the episode follows 16 contestants as they attempt to faithfully recreate dishes from Canlis's original 1950 menu. The restaurant's third-generation owners, Mark and Brian Canlis, serve as guest judges alongside the show's host, Padma Lakshmi, and acclaimed chefs Tom Colicchio, Hugh Acheson, Emeril Lagasse, and Naomi Pomeroy.
Fifties Flashback
The popular competition series Top Chef launched its 10th season in 2012. The season was based in Seattle and also included episodes filmed in Juneau, Alaska, and Los Angeles. Among the local destinations, personalities, and ingredients featured were the Space Needle, cooking for the Rat City Rollergirls, and harvesting oysters at Taylor Shellfish on Samish Bay.
Canlis restaurant was the setting for the fourth episode, titled "50s Food Flashback." Mark and Brian Canlis, grandsons of the restaurant’s founder Peter Canlis, were on hand at the end of the episode’s Quickfire Challenge to set the stage for the Elimination Challenge to follow. After providing some context about the restaurant’s history, the brothers produced copies of Canlis's original 1950 menu – items from which the 16 contestants that episode would be recreating in Canlis's kitchen. At the judge’s table to sample and critique their dishes were the show’s host Padma Lakshmi (b. 1970); head judge Tom Colicchio (b. 1962); season judges Hugh Acheson (b. 1971) and Emeril Lagasse (b. 1959); and guest judges Mark Canlis (b. 1974), Brian Canlis (b. 1977), and Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy (1954-2024). Surrounding them were diners at other tables in the restaurant, including Mark and Brian’s parents, Chris and Alice Canlis, seated not far from the judges. As noted in a recap of the episode, "This is the first episode that really feels like Seattle, and it’s cool to see everyone sitting in the Canlis dining room" ("Top Chef ...").
Among the dishes most praised by the judges were the marinated herring, the steamed clams Bordelaise, and the calf’s liver. On the latter, judges praised the contestant for his restraint – preparing the liver simply, not fussing with the classic preparation. By contrast the lamb shish kebab left judges disappointed, more so when the contestant revealed that he’d used sous-vide as part of the preparation. He was dinged for missing the point of the exercise: recreating the dishes in honor of the 1950s, not updating them for a modern spin. Among other dishes that didn’t fare well was the French onion soup: not hot, overly salty, and the crouton garnish just too hard to eat.
The contestant who would be preparing the Canlis Salad commented, with a bit of a shrug, "it seems like an easy salad." One of her fellow contestants quickly chimed in with, "so many people have eaten that salad, they know exactly what that salad tastes like, that’s the hard part. To me that’s the most risky dish." And it would indeed prove to be challenging, her version deemed to be uninspiring and overdressed. Among the critiques from judges, Brian Canlis noted, "That’s our family namesake and it fell flat as a Canlis Salad, as any salad." Mark acknowledged that the contestant had one of the tougher tasks, recreating such an iconic menu item. The lackluster presentation of that classic earned her Lakshmi’s signature dismissal: "Please pack your knives and go." Two contestants were sent home this episode; the second of them had prepared the whole squab.
Another seemingly simple assignment went to Kristen Kish (b. 1983): the two side dishes of fried onions and sautéed mushrooms. She was not particularly enthusiastic about those items, but her determination to make even the simplest preparations shine paid off. Kish ended up earning the win, and the $10,000 prize, for the episode. Kish would go on to be overall winner of Top Chef: Seattle as well, and in 2023 she replaced Lakshmi as host of Top Chef.
