Timothy Dean's performance was mixed on the first week of "Top Chef."
My colleague Sarah Kelber has all the details, plus video, on her reality TV blog, Reality Check.
Here's the short(er) version:
Dean's knife skills made him one of the top performers early on. Contestants were asked to peel potatoes, dice onions and carve up raw chickens in the first quickfire challenge of the season. Of the 17 contestants, Dean finished among the top four.
The four then had 30 minutes to prepare a dish with those ingredients for the chance to win $20,000. Dean's potato galette was declared too creamy, but still, a strong start.
Things got worse for Dean from there. All of the contestants had to prepare a dish representing their regional cuisine. D.C. native Dean prepared pan-seared rockfish with pickled leeks, ginger and sesame seeds. Chef-judge Eric Ripert found the skin too chewy.
"Timothy knows better than to take striped bass and cook it in a pan that way," Ripert said.
As a result, Dean suddenly found himself at the bottom of the pack. He was surprised to hear his name called when the judges summoned the four least-successful chefs.
"Are you serious?" Dean asked. "Are you joking me?"
Dean escaped the indignity of being asked to pack his knives and go home. But the judges noted that Dean was the only one of the top four performers from the early part of the show to wind up on the verge of elimination.
"I let myself down today," Dean said.
Maybe we can expect a season full of highs and lows from Dean. But let's not forget, even Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, the brothers from Frederick who competed last season, had their errant salmon bone and grainy ganache before landing in first and second place.
Timothy Dean, on top of things, on "Top Chef." Bravo photo