I was never a big fan of reality TV shows until two years ago when I came home from overseas for good. Call me ‘baduy’ but that’s not gonna change anything - I was addicted to ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother, the local version of the popular Big Brother reality shows overseas. I was so into it that when the first ‘teen edition’ went live on the boob tube, I predicted (and even voted for) the winner as early as its first month of airing. Indeed, Kim Chiu won! Tee hee!

Nowadays, Pinoys have placed themselves on top of the heap of the lucky ones making it towards achieving the ultimate goal. One such pride is Pinoy Dale Talde who made it to the “top 7″ (from an initial 16 ‘cheftestants’) and after nine episodes in the Fourth Season of Bravo TV’s Top Chef.

Top Chef, a reality show from the producers of Project Runway is a competitive reality show on Bravo TV that pits chefs from around the US against each other in weekly challenges. Hosted by Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef sees the up and coming chefs evaluated (and eliminated) by expert judges like Anthony Bourdain and Ming Tsai, to name a few. The chef that’s left standing at the end of the season wins $100,000 and a feature in Food and Wine magazine.

The cast of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 4 with our very own Dale Talde seated in front, center. (Cast photo and Lafang-tweaked Top Chef banner from Fanpop.)

Top Chef is not available on local TV but thanks to the World Wide Web and You Tube, I get to watch video clips of particular episodes. This season (the 4th) has been very interesting - one, because of the mixed bag of cheftestants, and two, Dale Talde.

The 29-year-old Dale Talde is a Filipino born and raised in Chicago where the current season is filming. Dale is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He trained in classic French cooking but his palate lean towards Asian flavours. He is currently a sous chef at Buddakan, an Asian restaurant in New York City. Based on reviews I have read so far, he’s quite an interesting character and he’s painted as a bit rude and confrontational. In a published interview on nycblog, Dale’s reply to a question about his demeanor: “I’m Asian, not the tallest dude in the world and I look like 12. In the kitchen, you have to have presence about your or you’re gonna get eaten alive. You’re always running at 100 percent. You don’t know where to stop. I have no “off” button.”

For the seventh episode which called for improvising and creating desserts, Dale made the “only” dessert he knew (as he claims) - the humble Pinoy halo-halo he used to eat all the time as a kid. Well, it is great to know that someone like him took “something that we do in our culture” and brought it to world-attention. Let’s have a look at how he did it . . . Here’s the recipe taken from the Top Chef site . . .

Above: Dale Talde’s Halo Halo concoction for Top Chef with shaved ice, lemongrass and young coconut water, avocado shake, braised mango with coconut and chilies, kiwi, and five-spice candied cashew nuts. (Bravo TV | Top Chef photo.)

INGREDIENTS | METHOD:

Lemongrass Young Coconut Water Brother:
3 stalks lemongrass, 3 oz ginger, 2T sugar, 2 pieces young coconut meat, water.

• Pound lemongrass and ginger with sugar and coconut juice and coconut meat. Place young coconut meat and water in pot and add lemongrass and ginger. Bring to a simmer and let steep for 10 minutes.

Braised Mango with Coconut and Chilies:
4 oz dried mango, 2 pieces dried chilies, 4 oz coconut milk.

• In a pan combine all ingredients, let simmer until mango is soft, then cut into strips.

Avocado Shake:
2 pieces avocado, 5 oz condensed milk, 1 cup ice.

• Add avocado to the blender with condensed milk. Turn blender on low then gradually turn to high slowly adding ice. Blend until smooth.

Brûléed Mango:
4 pieces mango, diced small; 2T sugar.

• Dice mango, dust with sugar and brûlée with a torch.

Kiwi Caviar:
2 pieces kiwi

• Cut kiwi into quarters and remove white center, then cut out center seeds.

Five-Spice Cashews:
2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup cashews, 2T five spice.

• In a pot, add sugar (reserve two tablespoons), water and cashews. Boil until liquid becomes syrup. Let cool and strain out liquid, then deep fry cashews. When cashews are golden brown, remove and toss in remaining sugar and five spice blend.

Assembly:
6 oz shaved ice, 3 oz lemongrass liquid, Rice Krispies, cilantro leaves, chili rings.

• Mix ice and lemongrass liquid well and add to glass, then add 3 ounces avocado puree, braised mango, brûléed mango, chopped candied cashews, young coconut meat, Rice Krispies, cilantro leaves and chili rings.

There it is . . . An interesting mix and twist for the humble halo-halo, indeed! I wonder how it would taste though . . . shaved ice with lemongrass and young coconut water concoction, avocado shake, braised mango with coconut and chilies, kiwi, and five-spice candied cashew nuts.

Well, it is hardly the Pinoy halo-halo that we all know of, but I think this is a great interpretation and attempt to make global a street food we have grown to love and enjoy through the years.

Mabuhay ang Pinoy!

Click on the thumbnails below to view photos of Dale in action and some of his yummy creations in the show. (Dale’s action photos from IMDB; food shots from Bravo TV | Top Chef.)

Click on this link to watch an episode video clip of Top Chef Season 4, as Pinoy Dale Talde explains his halo-halo creation. >>