Pee-wee Herman appeared as a special guest judge on last night's episode of Top Chef: Texas. The episode payed homage to Pee Wee Herman's popular movie from 1985, "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," with Top Chef's contestants preparing lunch for Pee Wee at the Alamo (which, as we learned in the movie, has no basement).
Several of the contestants stated that they were fans of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" while growing up.
The seemingly eternally youthful Pee-wee Herman broke out many of his old joke ("I know you are but what am I," etc.) as he bantered with the show's regulars. He was first served pancakes by all the contestants (he proclaimed each one "the best pancake he ever ate"). Pee-wee proclaimed that Chef Edward Lee's "pancake bits" won the preliminary contest, earning the chef $5,000.
Later, for the elimination challenge of serving Pee-wee lunch at the Alamo, he was served:
-- Lee's Chicken and Grits, Raw Corn, Kale Salad with Red-Eye Gravy
-- Chef Grayson Schmitz's Egg, Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken and Butternut Roasted Squash
-- Chef Lindsay Autry's Stuffed Zucchini with Braised Beef Cheeks, Rice and Goat Cheese
-- Chef Paul Qui's Roasted Chicken, Red Curry Gastrique, Summer Salad with Basil Blossom Oil; and
-- Chef Sarah Grueneberg's Summer Vegetable Egg Salad with Chicken Skin Vinaigrette
Pee-wee Herman and the regular Top Chef judges, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons, determined that Autry's Stuffed Zucchini dish was the winner, with Pee-wee declaring his enthusiasm at food served in "little boats." In a contest where all the cheftestants fared very well, Schmitz was eliminated.
