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Top Chef Masters: Feniger’s Kaya toast gets cut

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The last female chef standing, Susan Feniger, was knocked out last night, handing over the reins to Rick Moonen, who managed to dominate an entire episode as she had done the week prior.

But parting is sweet sorrow for Angeleno fans -- Feniger is offering free coconutty Kaya toast at Street from 5 to 7 p.m. daily through Tuesday (the password is ‘pack your knives’).

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Moonen, who just announced he’ll be consulting on the food and beverage program on the L.A.-to-Vegas X Train, outshined Susur Lee in the final duel of the quickfire challenge, where the chefs wagered against each other to see who could pinpoint the most ingredients in classic sauces. Lee mistakenly believed there was garlic in the lobster sauce, doling out yet another tough break for the edgy Chinese chef.

Moonen revealed that his deft palate stemmed from his adventurous eating habits as a child: He used to taste everything in sight, including dirt and cardboard. (Hear that, kiddos? Next time your mom scolds you for trying to serve real mud pie on April Fools’ Day, tell her you’re only trying to become a master chef.)

For the elimination challenge, the cheftestants were tasked with creating a dish inspired by their assigned Greek gods. Waxman opted for a scallop dish to honor of Poseidon; Moonen went for spiced swordfish and root vegetables to represent Hades; Lee chose pork loin with a Chinese wine sauce for Dionysus; Samuelsson went for smoke-free curing for Aries; and Feniger chose Kaya toast with a side of fried egg and soy glaze for Aphrodite.

Initially, Gail Simmons said she wanted to stick her fingers in the coconut jam day and night, and perhaps use the stuff as a sensual lube for her lover, but at the judges’ table she had a change of heart, asserting that sandwiches are too lowbrow this far into a masters series. (The recent New York Times article on haute stoner cuisine suggests otherwise.)

Maybe Waxman used some Jedi mind tricks on the judges to convince them that his over-salted scallops were better than Feniger’s Singaporean street food. There’s not much that could keep me from free coconut nibbles, though.

-- Krista Simmons

Follow me on Twitter @kristasimmons

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[Updated May 26 at 10:47 p.m. An earlier version of this post stated that Susur Lee thought that the sauce contained red wine vinegar instead of red wine. He actually thought it contained garlic, which it did not.]

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