04x09 - Wedding Wars

[bunniefuu]

[Padma]
previously, on top chef...

Perfect.

We want each of you
to devise a dinner

For a family of four
with a budget of $10.

[Laughs]

[Padma]
we have a little extra help
for you.

[Antonia]
and just seeing all those kids
coming in--

It just reminds me
of my daughter.

[Stephanie]
I've been at the top
a bunch of times,

And I'm lucky
to still be here.

So I just need to prove that I'm
actually supposed to be here.

Have you had curry
before?

[Mark]
I'm a little concerned

Because she's never had
a curry before.

Here you go, guys.

Is this something you make
with your own daughter?

This is an exact replica

Of what I do at home
with my daughter.

Jesucita is gonna explain
the dish

That we put together today.

We made vegetable curry.

[Padma]
I'm kind of amazed
that they made curry.

The winner is...

Antonia.

Thank you.

Stephanie, your dish
was over complicated.

mark, the dish
just really didn't

Come together that well.

Mark, please pack your knives
and go.

At stake for the winner,

A feature
in food & wine magazine,

A showcase at the annual
food & wine classic in aspen,

A gourmet dream vacation
in the french alps,

Provided
by evian natural spring water,

$100,000 To help

Turn their culinary dreams
into reality,

Furnished by the makers
of the glad family of products,

And the title of top chef.

[Rock music]

♪ ♪

Oh, baby, no!

[Mock moaning]

[Blows out lips]

I like mark a lot.

It's gonna be a little bit
less...

Entertaining shall we say.

He was here and he wasn't.

Then he is.
But he's not.

He and I were really
good friends.

And, uh, for him to be gone,
it's kind of sad.

You ready to move in?

Yeah.
Okay.

Whoo!

This is the first time

Four women have made it
this far all at once.

Usually, it's like two.

It's even playing field
going into eight people,

Which is--
hasn't happened.

[Nikki]
being a woman, you have to be

A fighter, a competitor,
you have to.

All right, guys,
let's roll.

Oh, it is.

[Stephanie]
we get to the top chef kitchen

And tom has joined us
this morning.

Ah, they know.

[Stephanie]
so no special guest judge
at the moment.

And we're all just a little bit
curious about what this means.

[Padma]
good morning, chefs.

[Chefs]
good morning.

As you can see,
we're joined by head judge,

Tom colicchio.
How you doin'?

What's up?

All right, so now we're going
to up the ante.

from this point on,

The winner
of the quickfire challenge

Will no longer get immunity
from elimination.

To mark this point
in the competition,

We're bringing back

two all-time favorite
top chef challenges.

And for these, you'll need
to divide into two teams.

Fork.
Spoon.

Fork.
Spoon.

Fork.
Spoon.

So please go stand
with your team.

Spoons.

Good work.

[Stephanie]
along with me

Is antonia, andrew,
and richard.

[Dale]
my team is nikki, spike,
lisa, and me.

We don't have
the strongest cooks,

But capable cooks.

I have actually only worked
with dale once,

Which worked out well
for the actual challenge.

After the challenge,
not so much.

I've never worked
with nikki

And I've never really worked
with spike.

But I'm ready for whatever.

So first up,

for your quickfire challenge,

tom's own personal favorite,

The relay race.

So padma told us
the quickfire is a relay race.

They did it last season.
It was really awesome to watch.

Hung, like, racing through
those chickens

And casey taking, like,
five hours to do an onion.

I'm really excited to have
our team show our skills.

Here's how it goes:
first off,

you need to peel
and supreme five oranges.

Second,

you have to clean
and turn two artichokes.

They need to look like this.
Stems attached.

Not like this.

Third,

you gotta clean that guy
right there.

monkfish cleaned.

Two filets.

and then after that,
you need to make

One quart of mayonnaise.

you guys have two minutes
to decide who does what.

And although
there's no immunity,

the winning team will get
a useful advantage.

Spend it wisely.

[Andrew]
I'm not a master of mayonnaise.

I'm not a master of monkfish,
so...

Can you do the monkfish?
Yes, I'll do the monkfish.

[antonia]
okay.

Is it two oranges, or five?
Five.

[Stephanie]
antonia chooses the oranges.

She points out that I make
mayonnaise all the time.

I should do mayonnaise.

Blais is happy
with doing monkfish.

And andrew's
mr. Speed artichoke man.

Who's doing
the mayonnaise?

[Nikki]
that's what we're trying
to decide.

I haven't made mayonnaise

Without a food processor
since culinary school.

I usually do it in a, um--

How do we do mayonnaise?

We're just dripping it
and [bleep]ing--

Yeah.
[Makes food processing noise]

Like a normal mayonnaise.

[Dale]
it's so asinine for me

To hear these come out
of people's mouths.

I haven't made a mayonnaise
by hand in years.

Like they're scared of it.

Fine, I'll do the mayonnaise.

Why are you still here?

So come on over here
and get in position

in your two teams.

"Buzzin' anticipation"

Is definitely a way
to put it.

"Nervousness," I think,
it probably more accurate.

All right, first person
go on my whistle.

Ready?

[Blows whistle]

[Lisa]
the race starts.

I am leading off the race.

I'm going up against antonia.

Go, girl.

go.

I need to stop shaking.

Surprisingly, my hands
were so shaky,

I thought I was going
to slit an artery.

[Stephanie]
antonia starts doing
the oranges.

She's at a pretty good pace,
but lisa's, like,

Whupping her ass.

[Antonia]
lisa's doing
really, really well.

She's like two oranges
ahead of me.

I'm trying to be as specific

As possible
because there can be no seeds,

And they all have to be
intact.

You got one pit right there--
you see it?
Yeah.

Good job, lise.

You're rocking it out.

[Lisa]
check.

[Blows whistle]
they're good.

Yes!

I smoked her ass
on those oranges.

Got us a k*ller
head start.

[Antonia]
I still had two oranges to go.

My hand started shaking.

I was like,
totally in my head,

Like, calm down.

[Spike]
instead of, like,
snapping artichokes

One by one,
I take a Kn*fe and I just turn

The whole thing
right away.

So I had two artichokes turned,
like, in a matter of seconds.

Check.

It's good.
[Blows whistle]

[Andrew]
antonia finishes her last piece.

And that's where the fire
comes in.

My secret w*apon is a peeler.
Wow.

Nice.

You're so [bleep]ing smart.

nice move.

Andrew has a peeler,
and it's just coming right off.

Very smart.
That's saving him a lot of time.

Oh, you bastard.

So then I'm peeling
the skin off

And I end up breaking
my second artichoke.

Is that unacceptable
right there?

Yeah.

So the huge lead
that I provided for the team

Just completely got lost.

Had to start over.
He's got to start over.

Dude, it was insane.

It was like
[makes rapid sounds].

And just artichoke
flying everywhere.

And we actually caught up
a lot of time on that.

[Andrew and spike]
check.

By the time he gets finished
with the artichokes,

He was dead in line
with the other team.

You're good--[blows whistle]--
you're good.

[Richard]
it feels like a pit stop
at a big race.

The rest of my team is clearing
the station off,

And I'm getting this ugly,
dinosaur-looking big-mouth fish

On the table.

And it's me versus the dragon.

Awesome, awesome.
Nice.

[andrew]
body slam.
[antonia]
get that out of there.

[Lisa]
dale, he's flying through it.

And I'm watching him,
but his filets are pretty bad.

They're pretty hacked up.

Tom's like, whoa.

[Richard]
one of the tricky things
about filleting a monkfish is

That you can sit there
and clean it forever.

Because there's not a lot
of yield on it.

[Dale and richard]
check.

[Blows whistle]

They're both good.
[Whistles]

let's go.
let's go, baby.

[Richard]
I feel pretty good,

And now we're going
into the last leg even,

So it's anyone's game now.

I'm doing five yolks.

[Lisa]
the kitchen started
to get really tense.

The lead is just gone,

It's literally, like, half a
second apart from each other.

Got your wet towel--
wet towel right there.

I just grabbed my oil
and start slowly dripping in.

I think my teammates
are sorta like,

What the [bleep], stephanie?

Let's speed this up
a little bit.

They know I need to get
a little base going,

And then, it's just go at it.

Go, steph, go.

[richard]
good job. Keep going.
don't give up.

My arm's about to fall off,
everybody's yelling,

My, like, adrenaline
is pumping.

Keep going, baby.

You're k*lling 'em.

I've not seen this much emotion
from myself.

No fatigue.

[Bleep].

My mayonnaise isn't breaking.

I gotta switch arms.

And I stop to take a breather
because it's really hard work.

Make it chicago-style.

Come on, staten island.
Strong is-land!

I'm trying to pump people up.

Like, come on.
This is what this is all about.

It's a competition, man.

there you go.

[richard and antonia]
it's more than a quart.

It's more than a quart.
Check.

It's done.
[Cheers]

[Stephanie]
awesome.

That was, um, I think the most
exciting challenge we've had.

[Richard]
it feels like we won
the super bowl.

I mean, it's like a game
that went down to the wire.

Mm, kicked their ass.

whoo!

kicked their ass, baby.

[Laughs]

[Locker rattles loudly]
[bleep]!

[nikki]
dale, come on.

Dale completely flips out.
Doesn't like losing.

My mind's kind of like,
great, I'm stuck working

With this guy again.

[Dale]
I hate losing.

Especially when you have
a huge lead like that.

[Antonia]
dale decided to have
a temper tantrum.

And he punched the locker

And then had to have
his diaper changed.

There's one thing
you should know.

What? Are you serious?

What about, like,
a chicken nugget?

Yes or no? Let's stop
[bleep]ing around.

We have 20 minutes.
We're a hodgepodge.

No one really likes each other
on this team.

Congratulations
to the winning team.

You guys are gonna get
a very important advantage

in the next challenge.

You've all heard
of restaurant wars, right?

well, we thought as much,

But this season,
we're not doing restaurant wars.

Everybody's looking so forward
to restaurant wars.

Like 95% of us
want to open restaurants.

And restaurant wars just defines
exactly what we're all about.

This year, we're changing it up
a bit.

Hi.
Hi.

Hello.

so, chefs, please meet

Cory and j.p.

Hello.
hi.

[Padma]
they're getting married
tomorrow.

Oh.

What?
Are you serious?

Are you serious?

[Shudders]

So this season on top chef,
restaurant wars

Is going to become
wedding wars.

[Andrew]
so, we are catering a wedding,

Which is not that cool.

I don't have any catering
experience.

I'm a restaurant dude.

So I catered when I was, like,
18 at a culinary school.

But I was a waiter there.

I have no experience
cooking for weddings.

One team will cater
to half the wedding guests

According to cory's tastes.

The other team will cater
to j.p. And his guests.

There are 125 guests each.

Oh, and there's one more
thing you should know.

Cory and j.p. Run
their own restaurant

and wedding venue.

so they may be your toughest
critics yet.

They definitely know
what's good and what's not.

So that's adding a tremendous
amount more pressure onto us.

As the winners
of the quickfire,

you get to choose:

Bride or groom?

What is your decision?

I would say that
it's really the bride's day

And we're gonna take
the bride.

That leaves you
with j.p.

[Spike]
they picked the bride.

I'm like, what are you guys,
complete moronic?

Or you got like
balls to the wall?

Like, I don't understand.

Like, she's gonna want
this moment

To be exactly the way
she has envisioned it

Since she was 14 years old.

The food, the decor,
the [bleep]ing wedding cake.

So you have 45 minutes
to plan

after you consult
with your clients.

and then an hour to shop

At whole foods
and restaurant depot.

your total budget
is $5,000.

you'll be working
through the night.

but we have set up
some cots for you.

You have a lot to do
in a very short time.

[Andrew laughs]

I have a culinary boner
right now,

Uh, knowing that I'm gonna be
working all night

Because this is something
that may separate myself

From the rest of the crew
because I am an animal,

And I will work 14 hours
non-stop to get the job done

Without any problems.

Tomorrow, you'll head
to the wedding venue

where you'll have two hours
to prep.

Good luck.

We'll see you tomorrow.

Good luck.

[Andrew]
awesome.

[nicole]
so tell us about you,

What your family
would like to eat.

I'd like italian food.

[spike]
what would you really like

To see, like, us
start your evening with?

I'd like to see
some bruschetta

And assorted crostini.

I like shrimp, lobster,
scallops.

I love white meat fish.

Chilean sea bass
is like the greatest thing ever.

[nikki]
that's exactly how I feel.

[Spike]
we are going
with italian food.

Nikki is italian.

They hit it off right away.
Instantly.

[nikki]
we have a very similar palate.

Everything you said
is exactly how I feel

About a lot of things.

[Antonia]
and what about for, like,
your passed hors d'oeuvres?

like, what do you like
to see?

I like meat and potatoes,
pasta, pizza.

I do like chicken
if it's fried.

Fry anything though.

Most of my family's
from the south.

Uh, I live in atlanta so...

Marietta.
That's where I'm from.
Wow.

Cory's from
the atlanta area.

I live in atlanta.
That's a big advantage.

Our theme is
meat and potatoes.

The midwest meats,
the south, comfort food.

Real simple,
well-ex*cuted food.

I love steak
if it's really well-seasoned.

I love, like, blue cheese
and mushrooms.

[Antonia]
it's a lot of pressure,
creating a menu like this.

There were a couple
very, like,

Classic dishes that you would
see on most catering menus.

And she was like,
"I don't ever wanna see 'em."

You know,
you want to make it nice.

You want to make it perfect.

You don't want to be all about
just meat and potatoes.

For me, my favorite cake

Has always been
german chocolate cake.

Also, chocolate and hazelnut.

Cake is my favorite thing
in the whole world--i love cake.

I definitely want it
to be layers.

but however many layers,
I mean, I don't know.

I just want the outside
to look interesting.

[Stephanie]
a wedding cake is no joke.

People spend like two days
making wedding cakes

And spend like $5,000
on them

Because they're a big old
pain in the ass.

We're really excited.
See you tomorrow.

Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow.

Thank you.

Good luck, guys.
See you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.
Thank you.

I was thinking of doing,
like, a braised--

Like, to do, like,
a full mini p--

Pulled pork sandwich.

Why can we roll
the pulled pork up into it?

Yeah. Yes.

that's a really good idea.

I feel that we have
a very strong team.

We just happen to be a team
that has all had, like,

Opportunity to shine
with their dishes

And actually win something.

But anything can happen.

And I'm not gonna sit here
and be, like,

We're gonna [bleep]in' win!

What about, like,
a chicken nugget?

Take a chicken.
Puree it.

And par-cook
the chicken itself, all right?

[Antonia]
it's very apparent

That andrew's only been cooking
for five years.

Like, you never do
crispy chicken for a banquet.

It ne--it's never crispy.
It's never perfect.

It just does not happen.
But, I mean, whatever.

We'll survive.

Every single private event
that I do,

they don't have a choice.

I do family style
hors d'oeuvres

And I always do flatbreads.

You and him bonded
on flavor profiles

and concepts, like,
right off the bat.

[Lisa]
nikki knows what we need to do.

I'm basically, like,
I'm your bitch.

Tell me what to do.
Uh, and let's make this awesome.

We need some hors d'oeuvres.

We need some hors d'oeuvres,
right?

We need some hors d'oeuvres?
We need some hors d'oeuvres?

[nikki]
it's the figs that were
beautiful.

Yeah, how are we--
how are we gonna present them?

'Cause, you know, they wrap them
if they're half.

I personally never liked
going to a wedding

And having to, like,
[makes crunch sound].

[Nikki]
I never want to be
on dale's team ever.

He's just the one you know
is gonna point fingers.

He doesn't work well
with others.

And half the people in the house
don't want to work with him.

so we're gonna put horse sauce
on sea bass?

Yes or no? Let's stop
[bleep]ing around.

We have 20 minutes.
We're a hodgepodge.

No one really likes each other
on this team.

Lisa doesn't like me.
I don't like lisa.

It's hard for me
to take direction from nikki.

I don't think most of these
people on the team

Are that strong of a cook.

[Stephanie]
we hop in the highlanders.

We have one hour and $5,000
to spend on this wedding.

Antonia and I are heading
to restaurant depot.

Hi, guys.

Hey, what's going on?
What's up, ladies?

I just think it's weird that you
guys are buying all the meat

And me and andrew
are buying the flowers.

[andrew on phone]
yeah, it's pretty weird, dude.

[Spike]
I needed to get dale
to restaurant depot with lisa

'Cause she is thick-skinned
and she can handle dale.

Nikki might just get a little
flustered and pissed off.

I know girl's gonna lead us
to victory on this one,

But she needs reinforcement,

Not someone that's gonna
contradict her

And try to debate with flavors
and what they want.

[Antonia]
we get to restaurant depot

And the place is like
a football field.

There was stuff everywhere.

Okay, I'm gonna run to the front
and grab the angus, okay.

And we need to get
yukons.

[Spike over speaker]
you got beets?

Um, we haven't found beets yet,
so, yeah...

They're here.
They're here. They're here.

[Lisa]
dale starts grabbing stuff.

I am with the phone
in one hand,

Trying to keep up
with the list.

A log of parm,
so I think this is the guy.

Chh, chh.

[Nikki]
oh, my god.

they did.
I told you.

Maybe he sent us
a text message.

[Spike]
"think you guys should get
the rapini."

All right, let's go see
if we can find some.

Are you thinking
that these are sexy?

Yeah, those are awesome.
Yeah. Do they have any more?

'Cause they're gonna melt
a little bit.

I think we should get more.
That's what I figured.

More? More what?

Richard's a very strong
character--no doubt.

He immediately assumes the--
the reign of the executive chef

Because people are
more or less intimidated

By him and his talent.

Where are the spices at?

You know where
the spices are?

We're right here?
Boo-yah. In your face.

If you don't put yourself
out there and challenge him,

He's just gonna keep
dominating.

Right here.

[Richard]
I'm put in charge of flowers.

I mean, I watch
a little martha stewart.

Um, you know,
I wear pink shoes.

That means that I should know
something about flowers.

All right, let's send
some flowers, man.

[Stephanie]
so richard actually sends us

A little movie
showing a display

Of flowers--
I'm like, all right,

Don't get the sunflowers,
dude.

They're not very well,
uh, versed

in flower world, huh?

Boys just don't know
how to pick out flowers.

Message sent.
Thank you.

We're on our way.

[Lisa]
this task is huge.

We're gonna have
14 hours to cook

For a wedding
for 125 people.

We are gonna go a long time
without sleeping.

[Clatter]

We're--we're gonna be going.

Convection or regular?

[Nikki]
regular at 325.

[Lisa]
you know,
it's somebody's wedding

So you have to make sure
that everything is perfect.

We want to keep it
very simple italian,

Which is
what the groom's requested.

You know, I don't cook
much italian at all,

So I'm really relying on nikki.

What are we each doing first?

For passed canapes,
we're gonna do

Some very rustic crispy
flatbreads and a bruschetta.

I seriously can't believe
I'm making pasta again.

[Lisa]
for our buffet, we got, uh,

Nikki making
homemade tortellinis,

Spike is dealing with all
of the grilled vegetables

For the antipasti.

Dale grabs
all of the proteins.

[Spike]
dale, what are you doing next?

Just curiosity.

Searing our tenderloins.

I have to make the beef filet,

Cook the sea bass,

And I'm doing
a pork ragu.

I can handle
that kind of [bleep],

So I'm gonna,
I'm gonna jump on it.

[In a french accent]
I am not a pastry chef.

My main focus is to worry
about the groom's cake.

I wanna have it done
and ready to go

Way ahead of time

Because if something,
god forbid, goes wrong

With this cake,
we are so [bleep]ed.

You didn't grab any
brown sugar, right?
What?

There's no brown sugar
in the pantry, is there?

There's brown sugar
in the pantry.

There is? Do you know
where it's at?

Want it?
Yeah.

Everybody's got
their jobs allotted.

We know what each person
is doing.

We know what everybody's
working on.

So honestly, it's just
about communicating.

[stephanie]
you're gonna do the potatoes.

I'm responsible

For the majority
of the hors d'oeuvres.

I'm doing
two different types of pizza,

Um, a pulled pork sandwich,

A short-rib, blue cheese
phyllo wrap.

For the buffet line,
we have the crispy chicken

With almonds and basil,

Braised brisket,

Filet mignon,

Creamed spinach,
and potato gratin.

Our cake is chocolate
and lemon

With a cream cheese
lemon filling.

I never made
this much cake.

You can do it.
I know.

The bride, she does
like chocolate.

She also really likes
vanilla and lemon.

So I'm gonna use a bunch
of different layers.

She doesn't want me to just
make some susie homemaker

Duncan hines cake
and call it a day.

She wants it to actually
look like she paid

Some money for it.

can I get two ovens
at 250?

[stephanie]
two ovens at 250?
yeah.

I'm gonna leave two
at 350.

[Richard]
my mission is to take care
of all the meats,

All the sauces,
all the braises.

We're trying to put out
some high-quality food.

Wedding food usually sucks.

And, you know,
me personally,

That's something I want to make
sure that doesn't happen.

I don't want it to look
like some second-class caterer

Pulled up
and is doing beef wellington.

[antonia]
I feel
like I'm in the army.

Just peeling potatoes.

[Spike]
we just need to know
if you want

To do it
with your flavor components,

Or if you just want

Roasted beets
the way she said.

[Lisa]
how do you roast them?

[nikki]
like half-sherry vinegar,
half-water.

Put 'em in a pan
and put 'em in the oven.

You want to bake these
with salt on the bottom?

[nikki]
you want to change it,
change it.

Like, I'm--i'm totally not--
like I'm down

With not making
all the decisions.

[Lisa]
nikki does not want to step
into the leadership role.

Probably not the smartest
of things to do.

You know, something like that,
I would step up

And be like, look,
this is what I do,

And if you guys are not familiar
with it,

Then let's just do it.

Uh, miss italia,
are we roasting these whole?

I'm not sure.

[Dale]
there is no leader on our team.

I'm pounding away.

I'm just not stopping.

Just not gonna stop.

I'm gonna keep on jumping
from one thing

To the next, the next,
the next, the next.

Yo, you can't finish off
that zucchini, can you?

Huh?

Say it again.

Can you finish off
the zucchini?

[Dale]
I feel like I'm picking up

All the slack,
all the bull[bleep] that people

Didn't want to do.

It's frustrating.

What about a little
egg white?

I don't need richard
chiming in

With his bull[bleep]
in my ear.

Lack of sleep

Affects
people differently.

What dishes
are you working on?

I did a, um...

[Whispers]
god, I can't even remember.

[Richard]
as the night progresses,
we're, you know,

Holding up pretty good.

I'm starting off running.

I think I started jogging
a little bit

Later on in the night.

And then, real time
just sort of disappears

And it's just
this game clock

Ticking down.

In my life, I've never
made creamed spinach before.

I have literally a [bleep]load
of spinach to do.

I'm looking at a good
five hour ordeal in front of me.

I am literally buried
in spinach.

I'm like popeye's wet
[bleep] dream right now, dude.

This is pretty heavily--

And I think when we hit
the hotel pan at the event,

We'll squeeze a little
lemon in it.

maybe add a little star anise
in the cream.

how you--how you
coating 'em?

Just panko.
Panko, salt, and pepper.

I don't need richard chiming in
with is bull[bleep] in my ear.

To me, it's more or less,
um, you know,

Just continue on what
you're doin'.

Just make good food.

What about a little
egg white?

And don't concern yourself
with anybody else's

Stupid little opinion.

and his filets are burnt.

[Lisa]
I'm extremely worried
watching dale,

The way he's moving
in the kitchen.

If you do 120 things
in 14 hours

And only 25 of them
are actually good,

What's the point
of doing the rest?

I realize at this point

That dale's got his hands
into all sorts of food

And I need to get my hands
on one dish

And cook it the way
I know how to cook it.

So I go and I pull
the [bleep]ing sea bass

Away from him,

So I can have an ace
in my pocket.

Basically, you know,

I'm just kinda lingering
on the pasta because

I've made pasta twice throughout
this competition already.

My teammates kinda wanted
me to do it

More than I wanted to do it.

[nikki]
what's up, dale?

I'm gonna drop
the sauce.

Which is?

Onions, carrots,
kind of a causses.

okay, so you're not putting
any tomato sauce?

no, not, not a--
not a typical tomato sauce.

how's it gonna be
a ragu?

I put, uh, healthy tomatoes
inside the braise.

[Nikki]
dale is off doing
his own thing,

But we want to know
what he's doing.

He's working
on a ragu,

And I'm really concerned
because I have

A very different philosophy
than he does about ragus.

[nikki]
yeah, he's not a team player
at all.

[lisa]
nope.

I'm not going down for--
for that. [Bleep] that.

He's not gonna say,
"oh, well, you know,

Nikki's the one
who knows all the food."

No.
Bull[bleep].
You did your own thing.

[Dale]
nikki wants to take
creative control over something,

But not responsibility
for things.

It's top chef,

Not best g.m. or best
entrepreneur-restaurant owner.

Make some buttermilk pancakes

When we wake up
in the morning, uh?

Ha.

Wake up?

[Nikki]
I'm dizzy. I'm tired.
I'm dehydrated.

I want to go to sleep

More than I've ever wanted
to sleep in my entire life.

[Richard]
lack of sleep affects people
differently.

[Speaking gibberish]

[Richard]
you know, andrew stops talking

At a certain point,

Which is unique
for andrew.

I'm going crazy.

[spike]
♪ crazy, crazy, crazy ♪

Antonia, your facial expression
has not changed

For the last, uh, seven hours.

[Tom]
good morning.

Hi, chef, how are you?
Good, how's it going?

Good.

How's everybody feeling?

Get any sleep last night?
No.

Sure.
No?

[Laughing]
none at all?

Zero, okay.

You're cooking
for the bride?

[antonia]
yes.
[tom]
okay.

she's meat and potatoes.

[andrew]
meat and potatoes.

Uh, we have brisket
in the oven.

we have tenderloins.
okay.

Uh, we had some pulled pork.

she made the beautiful cake.
I'm doing
the wedding cake.

Did anybody see the fir--
the episode in the first season

Where we did a wedding?

Yeah.
yeah, I just hope
it doesn't end like that.

[Laughter]

I made sure not to put

Any eggshells in my cake, so...
great.

All right,
get back to it.

[All]
thanks.

Hi, lisa.

Hey, how's it going?
Good morning.

How you doing?
Is it morning?
What time is it?

It's definitely morning.

Oh, god.

Tired right now?
yes.

This actually isn't finished
yet.

there's some last minute
touches that are gonna

Go on there,
but, uh...

He, what kind
of food does he like?

All italian.

I mean, you're used
to doing italian food, right?

So this should be old hat.

But these guys, um,

Are all--we're all
across the board here.

[Tom]
so what--what dishes
are you working on?

I did a, um...

[Whispers]
god, I can't even remember.

I also did a--

Look over there
and see what you have.

I'm also--right now, I'm working
on some bruschetta.

I'm working
on the tortellini.

Making that or...?

I haven't folded them
all yet.
Okay.

Keep in mind
we are doing a wedding.

It's someone's festive day.

So don't dumb down

Because you're cooking
for 125 people, okay?

Okay.
thanks, chef.

Thanks.
[tom]
take care.

Okay, chefs, you have about
three and a half hours left.

I'll see you at the wedding.

Thanks, chef.
Take care.

Okay, so I just did a check
in there for the chefs.

Been cooking
all night long.

They're clearly exhausted.

Um, and I think that's
gonna be a major factor.

On the groom's side,

They have an easier task.

Italian food is kinda
easier for people to like,

To understand.

And it's a little more
interesting.

Lisa made the cake.

You know, she has a good excuse
for it not looking so great.

She said the groom wanted
his cake to be very simple.

Well, I hope he didn't
say ugly,

Because that's kinda what
we have.

It almost looks like
a battleship of some sort.

The bride, she has very simple,
straight-forward taste.

She's a meat
and potatoes girl.

This is the kind of food
that needs to be pulled off

And--and done well.

When you think of food
from the heartland

Or from the south,

It has to be well seasoned

And--and--and, you know,
really delicious

Because it's so simple.

Uh, you know,
it's a strong team.

But we'll see. We've seen
strong teams go down before.

We'll see.

I'm gonna bring my cake
in pieces.

I really don't trust
having a really tall cake

Going through all the bumps

That we go through
when we drive everywhere.

So I think
it's a much better idea

To sort of put it together
on site.

[Lisa]
I'm honestly, so tired
that I can't even bring myself

To stress about anything

Other than "hold onto that cake
for dear life"

Because if it smashes,
I'm going to need therapy.

We have all the food.

Now it's a matter
of can we stay awake

For a whole night's service?

At this point, I really wonder
how I'm gonna make it

Through the wedding.

[Richard]
getting nervous.

Don't get nervous.

[Richard]
it's game time.

[Applause]

Kosher salt, sweetie?

[Lisa]
it's on the table in a cup.

You don't have
to yell.

Is it just me or is this
a hot [bleep]ing kitchen?

Everyone's, you know,
on edge.

We haven't slept
in over a day.

That's pretty crazy.

[padma]
can I have your attention,
guys?

I'd like to introduce you
to our judges

for this elimination challenge,

Judge chef tom colicchio,

Gail simmons
from food & wine magazine,

And we have gale gand,

Of tru restaurant
here in chicago.

Gale gand is

Probably the top pastry chef
in the city.

So kind of funny
that I'm making a wedding cake,

And I have no idea
what I'm doing.

Bye.
Good luck.

I, joseph paul,

Take you, cory christine
to be my wife.

I promise to be true to you
in good times and in bad.

in sickness and in health.

I will love you
and honor you.

I will love you
and honor you.

All the days
of my life.

All the days of my life.

[Priest]
and every time you look
at this ring,

I want you to express
your love for each other.

Morning, noon, and night,
all right?

God bless you.

Kiss and let's give 'em
a great hand, please.

[Applause]

like this?
yeah.

We--we can turn it
once on the table.

Oh, yeah.

Did you taste this yet?

[richard]
getting nervous.

Don't get nervous.
It's game time.

Hi, how are you?
Nice to meet you.
Melanie.

How are you doing?
Nice to meet you.

Thanks so much
for being here.

Oh, this is exciting.

I used to say all the time,

"I just wish that he'd love me
the way that I love him."

And then all of a sudden,
one day, he did, so--

[Richard]
now we have to start the push

On the hors d'oeuvres
and, uh, start making it happen.

[Antonia]
short rib and blue cheese,

Almonds, red wine gastrique.

[J.p.]
What's this?

Short rib, blue cheese
with almonds.

Mm, this is good.

That is awesome.
That is the b*mb.

Pulled pork sandwich
with a homemade pickle.

Thank you.

[tom]
that's good.

That's good.
It's a little messy.

This is pizza
with prosciutto, herbs,

And parmesan--
and goat cheese!

It's mild. It is.

Fabulous.

Have you tried this?

It's really good.
I like the prosciutto on top.

[Antonia]
I feel really confident
with the appetizers.

I made really nice pizzas.

[Lisa]
canapes are going out.

The trays are nicely stocked.

I'm pretty content
with the flavors.

I like the flatbreads a lot.

This is sausage pizza
flatbread.

[padma]
groom's pizza.

So they made
two different pizzas.

I really like the pizza.

[lisa]
yeah, I know.

Who made that?

[spike]
dale.

The crostinis
are cut super thick

And they're dry.

And I'm, like, the bruschetta's
going on this?

[Nikki]
this is, uh, bruschetta.

[Crostinis crunching, cracking]

And really loud.

[Female guest]
it's a little hard to eat

'Cause I think
it's gonna be messy

And I don't want to spill it
on my outfit.

Just--it's messy.

Do I have it
all over me?

No, I think you're good.
I think you're good.
Okay.

[tom]
I think we had everything,
right?

We still have dinner
to go.

Well, let's go in
and have dinner.

[Male announcer]
please welcome mr. And mrs.

J.p. Marchetti.

[Cheers and applause]

Oh, her dress
is beautiful.

We are gonna get crushed.

[Richard]
it's a big wedding.

And it's a buffet--
it's pretty much ring a bell,

And everyone's
gonna start eating.

That's scary.

[Announcer]
at this time,
we're going to invite you

To enjoy your meal.

How are ya?
How are ya?

Well, it's kind of like
this is the americana table.

The potatoes are really yummy.
Go for the potatoes.

I'm working front
with richard.

Stephanie's gonna run
back and forth.

These are both really hot.

[Antonia]
and andrew's staying
in the kitchen.

Andrew's not allowed
to talk to the guests.

Still in the kitchen.
Still bangin' food out.

[Laughs]
seriously.

This is a sicilian
tuna salad.

When we first start serving,

I lack a little bit
of focus at this point.

I really wonder

How I'm gonna make it through
the reception.

I'm exhausted.

So what I think she needs
right now is tortellini.

No, I'm--i'm takin'
a filet right now.
Okay.

All the hot food
I'm cooking by myself.

I have to make the beef,
make the pasta.

I have no support
inside that kitchen.

Like, if we all came in
and started comin' in

Like gangbusters,

It would've been a lot easier
to execute.

congratulations.
hi, thank you.

How are you?
I'm good, I'm good.

Filet.
I know you love it.

I do.

Put it on.
Thank you so much.

♪ Duh-duh-da-duh ♪ ♪
here comes the bride.

I definitely want
to try some brisket.

The bride is
the most important person

At this event.

If she doesn't like it,

Really doesn't matter
if everyone else does.

[woman]
I think you lost a spoon.

[Woman]
that's my favorite
in the whole world.

[Female guest]
hey, susie, dive in.

I'll go get it.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

This is a potato gratin
right here.

[padma]
how tired are you, richard?

I like weddings,

So I'm--i'm getting
into it.

Care for some filet?

The bride is meat and potatoes,
so that's the theme tonight.

Okay.

This is some horseradish sauce.
Very classic, of course.

This is a red wine syrup.
It's a little sweet-tart.

What do you like that on?
The filet?

I like a little bit with the
horseradish and the filet.

Yeah, I think it really
works well.

Uh, we have some brisket
in the next pan.

It's cooked for 24 hours.

So that's been working
as long as we have today.

Nice.
[Laughs]

[Antonia]
so this an almond and
basil-crusted chicken breast.

I know it's a lot.
It's okay.

That's what weddings
are about though, right?

You're totally right.

You diet to look great
in your dress

And then you have
a great meal.

[padma]
that brisket is delicious.

Taste it.

What did you think
of the filet?

[Padma]
I thought it was good.

The horseradish sauce is good.

[tom]
the horseradish sauce
is delicious.

I wanna eat
my whole piece of filet.

[tom]
you know, I think there are two
things on the plate that are--

not so good.
[gale]
not great.

This is my least favorite way
to eat chicken in general.

It's also the worst thing
on the plate.

He made the same exact thing
in the kids' challenge too.

Better in the kids'
challenge.

Well, 'cause it was served
right away.
Yeah.

This was sitting
in a chafing-dish.

Not so good.

[lisa]
congratulations.

How you guys doing?
awesome.

How are you doing?
It's great to see you.

So all fresh vegetables.

Peppers, portobellos,
brussels.

[J.p.]
You got my brussels?

[Nikki]
yup.

Are they roasted?
yup, we roasted them.

You don't have to take
so much.

We won't be offended.
No, I really eat
that much.

Unless you're really hungry.
Good.

The groom walks through
and he starts

With the antipasti.
And I think he really likes it.

It looks beautiful.
Thank you so much.

That looks amazing.

what is that?

Uh, that is homemade tortellini

It's with butternut squash
and sage.

That smells good
already.

Yes.
Of course.

[woman]
now what is this, tilapia?

This is actually
chilean sea bass.

It's served with a little bit
of artichoke,

Capers and olives.

Fantastic.

How are you?
I'm good.

I think I should feel tired
because I've been up

For 36 hours
but I don't feel it.

[Gale]
you're like a med student.

Who did the orechetti?

Uh, dale did the ragu.

And it's--it is pork
and a little bit of beef

To get the richness.

Does this gravy go
over the beef?
Yup.

It's just basically pan-seared
filet mignon

With some herb-roasted
fingerling potatoes.

A little bit
of horseradish cream.

Cheers.

[padma]
pasta's a little too sweet.

[tom]
tortellini's also
not very good.

The orechetti.
The ragu orechetti.

[gail]
yeah.

[Tom]
that's pretty good.

The grilled vegetables
didn't look very appetizing.

[Gale]
they were sort of like

Trying to wow you with how many
varieties they had.

It was totally unoriginal
and sort of uninspired.

Yeah.

I have to be honest
with you.

I heard this side
was better.

Aw, thank you.

We're getting great feedback.

Everyone's, like, you guys
are the best ones here.

We love you.

But honestly,
I don't believe it anymore.

This is what we call
liquid love.

Have you had this
already?

Yes, I did, actually.

Admit it, you like
my buffet better.

I don't like
your buffet better.

[Announcer]
at this time,
we're going to invite

J.p. And cory
up to cut the cakes.

I really hope
it doesn't fall over.

[richard]
it's not gonna fall over.

Push.

[Antonia]
I think stephanie's cake
looks gorgeous.

I do. And, you know,
it's five layers.

It's beautiful
white fondant.

She decorated it
with all fresh flowers.

I thought
it looked really nice.

Well, it's well done.

I'm so nervous.
Don't be nervous.

[Lisa]
I'm excited about my cake,
you know.

It came together
really nicely and pretty,

And everybody
was like, wow!

Mm.

Yes.

[Cory]
this is really good.

It's really moist.
It's good.

Hazelnut.
It's hazelnut.

[Woman]
I loved the bride's cake

Because it was very
kind of creamy

And there was a nice sauce.

You okay, blaisy?

I was--yeah, I'm doing good.

I was, you know--

I'm happy
with our performance,

But I don't know
what's gonna happen.

I worry about every single thing
that my team did.

We wanted to please
the groom first.

And then make good enough dishes
for the judges

To not be able to deny.

So I think at this point,
I'm pretty confident

That we made
the right decision.

She didn't particularly care
for the spinach.

I wasn't happy with it,
honestly speaking.

The bruschetta,
who did that?

I did that.

I did that.

You're such a little bitch,
bro, seriously.

[Growls]

Well, what do we think
of those wedding wars?

It's a difficult thing
to take on.

You know, even for people
who are good at it like me,

It takes days and days
and days.

The team that chose the bride,
they had their first choice.

And they actually made
a decision,

Which was a surprising
decision.

'Cause usually the bride
is a little more stressed.

And so I would think
that would be the harder,

you know,
part of the team

To work with and get
a clear answer out of.

Whoever made that decision
to choose to cook for the bride,

I'd love to get them
out here and question them.

Well, let's get them
out here.

[spike]
I have to give it up for the
two ladies that made cakes.

honestly,

I definitely wouldn't, like,
wouldn't have had, like,

Any clue on how to make
it work.

I totally agree.
Good cobbler.

Totally agree.

[padma]
we'd like to see
the bride's team, please.

[Exhales]

Who made a decision to choose,
uh, the bride's team?

Why did you do that?

I'm married. I've gone
through the process.

and it's like the bride's day.
it's all about the bride.

And she should get
what she wants, so--

andrew, and you--you did
the chicken?

I did the chicken
and I did the--
we saw that--

We saw that dish pretty much

same thing the other day.

What else did you do?

Uh, I also did the, uh,
the, um...

Spinach.
spinach. Yes.

Which took me long time

Through a meat grinder.

There was some taste in it.

that was my fault.

The special taste in it

Might be the star anise
we put in it.

Didn't particularly care
for the spinach.

And I wasn't happy with it,
honestly speaking.

[Tom]
we're always very concerned
when we do weddings

Because there's so much hinging
on--on the food.

even though
we're not cooking it,

We still feel a sense
of ownership,

So you guys did us
really proud tonight.

so thanks.

Yeah, congratulations,
guys,

you're the favorite
in this challenge.

Thank you.

Gale, what was your
favorite dish tonight?

Well, I'm really curious
about who made the wedding cake.

She deserves

All the credit right there.

I usually take three days
to make

a wedding cake
so I was really impressed.

We were impressed as well.

Who made the pizza?

[tom]
considering the other team
chose italian food,

The pizza on bride's team
was much better.

Cool.

[padma]
who made the brisket?

That was fantastic.

It was perfect.
It was really perfect.

well, gale,

As the guest judge
for this elimination round,

It falls to you to tell us
who our winner today is.

The person that we picked

as our winner
is someone

who took a lot of
responsibility with the menu,

had really solid dishes
all around,

And that person is...

Richard.

[Applause]

I'd like to give it
to stephanie, actually.

[Laughter]

Really?

Thanks.

[Richard]
I think stephanie
brought it home.

The work that she put in
to make that wedding cake,

I didn't want to do it--
I couldn't have done it.

So, stephanie,

that means you will get
a gift certificate

from crate & barrel
for $2,000.

Why don't we just share it?
You got it.

[Stephanie]
in the team challenges,
you have to get along

And respect each other

And I think that's what happened
on our team.

So, yeah, I'm pretty proud
of us.

As you probably figured out,

you need to bring out
your colleagues

From the groom's team.

Hey, guys,
sorry to be

the bearer.

They want to see you.

[spike]
okay.

congratulations.
thanks.

As you know,
you are the losing team

on this challenge.

and one of you

Will be going home
tonight.

lisa, let's start
with you.

What did you do?

I did the cake.

[Tom]
dale, what did you do?

Cooked all the filets,

roasted all
the fingerling potatoes,

I made the ragu of pork.

Nikki?

I made the pesto sauce.

I made pasta.

Spike?

I made the fish with capers,
olives, and artichokes.

I cut and marinated squash,

Eggplant, zucchini...

Who was driving the bus here
as far as the italian menu?

Definitely not me.

I mean,

I had a lot of input because
I have the most experience,

and everybody
definitely looked

For my opinion
in certain things.

but in no way

Am I playing executive chef
for this.

[gale]
can we talk about the cake
a little bit?

It was a groom's cake.

His guidance
was very specific.

He did not want
anything extravagant.

He did not want
to outshine

his wife-to-be's cake.

he wanted something simple.

He's more about a cake that's
appealing, but tastes good.

Okay.

Well, it didn't look
as nice as his wife's cake,

So I think
you've accomplished that,

But it definitely--
it definitely tastes better.

um, we actually liked
the chocolate cake.

Who made the decision
to sort of do the antipasti bar?

The groom.

The groom, okay.

Yeah, he actually said--

Italian cheeses.

Meats, cheeses,
vegetables.

especially vegetables.

[tom]
I think part of the issue is

you had so many different
dishes up there,

But some of the stuff
just didn't taste very good.

the tortellini

That you made was dry,
the filling was like dessert.

The pizzas,
the crust was--

Was, you know,
pretty dry and hard.

[gail]
some of the meat
was overcooked.

the filet--
the piece that padma ate

Was really overcooked.

[tom]
horseradish sauce
was flavorless.

this is...

Fairly simple food
that needs to be seasoned well

And taste great
for it to be good.

and it wasn't.

when did you guys toast
the bread

For the bruschetta?

We did that here.

and who did that?
[dale]
I did that.

I did that.

it's another thing
that I did.

[Sighs]

Get it all out, man.
Come on.

Dude, I hustled.

I straight-up hustled.

I came
into this kitchen--

Dale, nobody disagrees
with that, dale.

Look at the prep list.

just look at it.

I mean, you're saying this
as if somebody else

just dragged their feet--
is that what you're getting at?

Dale, come on, dude.
Please.

Who wasn't doing [bleep]?

Get it all out.
I mean, come on.

Point some fingers,
if that's what you're doing.

Were they gonna get done
if I didn't get 'em done?

Yeah.
Absolutely.

By the time you asked me
to do your zucchini for you?

It's a team effort,
you know what I mean?

I'm not gonna let you
stand up here

and tell me
that you were god

In this elimination round

And you did everything
for everybody.

I wasn't, but i--

I banged it out today.

I mean,
that's bull[bleep], dude.

I banged it out today.

Well, I feel
like I pushed harder than you.

[dale]
bull[bleep]. Bull[bleep].

I feel like my prep load
was a lot more difficult

Than yours was.
bull[bleep].

Bull[bleep].

Dale, you're such
a little bitch, bro.

seriously.

Come on, guys.

No, I'm just angry
and I'm the only one

standing up
for all three of us?

[nikki]
I care about my dishes.

I take responsibility
for my dishes.

I'm regretting
stooping down to his level.

[gail]
do you want to hear
how the sea bass was?

Yeah, I guess so.
Why not?

Everyone really liked it.

You should have liked it--it
took him three hours to make it.

Does anyone have anything else
they want to say

before we talk this out?

okay, thank you.

It's one of those fun days
at the chopping block.

Well, that was very interesting.

Fascinating.

Let's talk
about the food

for a minute.

What exactly did spike do,
and did he do it well?

[Tom]
he did the fish,

but he didn't seem to do
a whole lot of anything else.

That one fish dish was not
enough to be

the centerpiece
of his work.

He did do the vegetables,
he said,

But he didn't do them well,
in my opinion.

[gale]
no, he didn't,
though they're a lot of work.

They're time-consuming,
and I think

That's what
he got swallowed up in.

[gail]
there was a major ego w*r
going on.

which brings us to dale.

What didn't dale do?

He felt
that he should not go home

Because he did the bulk
of the work.

[Gail]
but if you're taking on so much,

That should be the reason
to stop and say,

"There's too much
on this list,

It doesn't make sense,

And I'm gonna go down
for it,

So I need to edit
this list."

Nikki, to me,
was a major disappointment

Because she has the most
experience with italian food,

um, and yet the food,
to me, wasn't very italian,

to tell you the truth.

At no time did she say, "you
guys, we should plan a menu."

or, "you know,
I really can't believe--"

Or, how about, "I have the most
experience with italian food.

"I will take the lead.

I'll go down with the ship
if it doesn't work out."

[padma]
yeah.

The only way you're gonna win
this is

is to step up
and do the job.

Tell me it's not frustrating
when you have a sense of urgency

and there's some people
that don't have--

Don't have a sense of urgency.

[nikki]
you can't point fingers

On the judges' table--
you become that guy.

Right.

[nikki]
they are not going to look
at you any better

when you do that.

that's it.

All right,
let's get them out here.

[Tom]
so tonight's challenge
was wedding wars.

We felt that the menu,
overall,

was--was just too big
in breadth

and you didn't focus
on individual flavors

and make that food delicious.

Dale, you said

that you did
the bulk of the work,

But we didn't care
for the bulk of that work.

nikki, we feel that you had
the most experience

with italian food,

But didn't assert yourself.

Spike,

it sounds
that you didn't carry

Your share of the load here.

So we need to make a decision
tonight.

Nikki,
please pack your knives

and go.

[Silently]

I'm fine.

[Nikki]
I'm extremely proud
of how I did.

This is one of those
life-changing experiences

Where you test yourself.

And I'm happy
that I got this far.

Me.

I mean, I have a restaurant
to go home to,

Um, and a wonderful family.

So, you know, that's something
I'm really looking forward to.

Bye, baby.

[nikki]
all right, I'm leaving.

Bye, you guys.

I think that you walk away

From any--anything like this
and you're a better person--

You're a stronger person.

And the next move for me

Is probably another--
another venture.

So, uh,
it's full-speed ahead.

Captioning by[font color="#00ff00"] captionmax[/font]
www.captionmax.com

[Padma]
next, on top chef...

[Antonia]
oh, my god.

I'm sure you all recognize
the gentleman to my right.man.

[Antonia]
tall, dark, and handsome
and he can cook.

Sign me up.

The fact that he's actually
thinking

How he can screw
the rest of us up--

He's going straight to hell.

My burner up to high!

Damn it.

I can't believe that somebody
has done this to me

And now I'm so screwed.

[Laughs]

[Dale]
I'm nervous.

I'm genuinely nervous.

I can't even speculate anymore.

It's just gonna drive me insane.

Four dishes were better.

In your opinion.

Unfortunately for you,
my opinion's what matters.

Is that top chef?
are you a [bleep]ing top chef?

Fall on the floor, and I'm gonna
kick you while you're down.

That was interesting.

[antonia]
andrew, you're totally freaking
me out right now.

[Padma]
for more about the recipes
seen tonight,