19x01 - Primal Instincts

[bunniefuu]

People think it's
very glamorous to be a chef,

but it's not all pretty
all the time.

I think for
a long time we, kind of,

undervalued our cooks.

We still have
a lot of work to do

but I think we'll get there.

I'd like to
see the tides changing

and I think that
they are in large part

because of the younger
generation of chefs

just putting their foot down.

I'm bringing my grit
and I'm bringing my drive.

I feel like I'm unstoppable.

I'm about to take over.

Top Chefis back.


most talented chefs

have traveled to
Houston to compete

in one of the most
diverse cities in the nation.

Hot stuff!

It's a hot kitchen in here!

I worked in
Paris at the Ledoyen,

which is a three
Michelin star restaurant.

Come on, come
on, come on, come on.

I was working at
a five star restaurant at 14.

I ended up becoming
head chef at 19-years-old.

I worked with Pierre
and chef Daniel Bouloud.

They helped me
get my green card.

These chefs
are the cream of the crop.

May the best team win.

- Good luck.
- Good luck to you.

Each week, we'll be joined by

a Top Chefall
star guest judge...

Any time that
you tilt your bowl,

you got a good dish.

Along with a local
or national culinary icon.

The brisket was
the star of the plate.

- I was like, "Whoa."
- We love queso.

- I'm gonna aerate it.
- Aren't you fancy?

- One minute!
- That clock is not your friend.

Oh, my God!

Welcome to Houston!

At stake for the winner,

a feature in Food
and Winemagazine,

an appearance at the Food
and Wine Classic in Aspen.

$250,000
furnished by San Pellegrino

and the coveted
title of Top Chef.

Hello, chefs!

Oh, my God...

This is crazy!

Welcome to Houston
and to season 19 of Top Chef.

Walking into the Top Chef
kitchen, I'm in a dream.

I am having
an outer body experience.

We've been everywhere,
from New York

to Chicago, to L.A.,
to Portland...

but we've never been to Houston

and it's the fourth
largest city in the country.

And Houston is also
home to Top Chef finalist

and your guest judge,
Dawn Burrell.

I am so excited for
you guys to be in my city.

Houston is a true melting pot.

Every culture
is represented here.

The food is really delicious

and it is the reason
why I love living here.

Take a look around.
Standing amongst you

is an incredible
collection of talented chefs

all here to
compete for the grand prize

of $250,000
furnished by San Pellegrino.

And that title of Top Chef.

I hear Padma but what
I see is that Kn*fe block.

My mind immediately goes to

this is looking
like a team challenge.

Being from Houston is
definitely an advantage

in the competition
but team challenges,

those are
the hardest ones on Top Chef.

The 15 of you represent
an incredible range of cuisines,

from Asian to
French to Afro-lachian.

That would be me.

A lot of Southern
Appalachian cuisine

has to do with
cooking out of sustenance.

True living off the land.

I think we have
some James Beard nominees

in the kitchen, right?

- Ashleigh, Sarah.
- Wow.

Raise your hand
if you've ever worked

in a Michelin starred kitchen.

One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.

Wow. It's a big group.

I've worked in
some really good restaurants

but I haven't worked in
three Michelin star kitchens.

I came on this competition

to show that
my collard greens deserve to be

in the same room
as someone else's cassoulet.

There's somebody
here who's worked

in the number one restaurant
in the world. Who is that?

Yes, I worked at
restaurant Noma, Copenhagen

for eight and a half years.

Looks like we have some
competition in the kitchen.

I hope you're ready

because this first
challenge is a silent k*ller.

Chefs, it's time to draw knives.

This is a team challenge.

Each team must have
a chef holding the number one,

a number two and a number three.

Now, find your teammates.

- You got a one?
- Two anybody?

- I've got a two.
- Two? Three?

- Two?
- I got a three.

I'm Sarah.

- Jackson.
- Robert.

Sarah, Jackson.

I just was not
expecting a team challenge

so quickly, which sucks.

I had COVID a month ago.

Everything was fine,

but I lost
my sense of smell and taste.

But for now, I don't
see a need to tell anyone.

God, does that make me a d*ck?

So, today's challenge
is just like a trust fall.

Great.

You'll have 30 minutes on
the clock to incorporate

all of your cooking styles
into one cohesive dish.

Each team member
will only have 10 minutes

to contribute to the dish
before the next team member

takes their place.

And, here's where
the trust really comes in, guys.

You will not be allowed
to speak to your teammates.

Am I hearing this right?

- I don't know these people.
- Wow.

Make sure that each
of you add something to the dish

that speaks to
who you are as a chef.

And you're
definitely gonna want to win

this first quickfire
because every chef

on the winning
team gets immunity

in the first
elimination challenge.

When time starts,

everyone with a one can
start cooking immediately.

Everyone with
a two, over here.

Everyone with a three,
you'll be over here.

You'll have


Your time starts now!
Good luck!

Go, go, go, go.

Push him off, push him off.

Please, get something!

I'm a little bit scared

because my style of cooking
is Korean and New Orleans.

It has its own
character and it's very unique.

But I have to rely
on other two partners.

I don't want them to mess up.

She got it, she got it.

Sugar, sugar, sugar.

You guys have any
idea what's going on?

I don't think--

My intention is to
build this blank canvas

so that my team
can build on that.

What do you have
going on over there?

How are you
spending these 10 minutes?

Ha! I'm supposed to
know what I'm doing right now?

I have proteins on.

I cook very much on the fly

and I'm also
a very collaborative chef.

So I approached
the entire challenge like a big,

"Choose Your Own Adventure"

and I am the game master.
Did anybody find garlic?

It's to the right
of the watermelon, I think?

Cool!

scallops and pork.

And I decide to
do a romesco sauce

because it can be changed
into many different things.

How do you feel about sharing
your black pepper with me?

Uh, sure. I'll leave it
on my station, you can use it.

I'm upset that I have number one

because I have
nothing to do with

what the final dish
really comes out to be.

I'm trying to
get my guys set up,

things that make sense.

I'm really thinking that we can
sear a steak, make creamed corn.

Really hoping that
the creamed corn makes it

because that's
something I grew up eating.

I want my team
to run to the pantry

as little as possible,

so I spend time
gathering everything

that I think we will need.

I think Leia is just
trying to get everyone set up.

I know that Vietnamese
food has a big imprint

here in Houston,
so I'm trying to give them

a really specific direction.

What is your dish?

Uh, I don't know right now.

I think I'm just trying
to make a base vinaigrette

for these guys.

I grabbed T-Bone
and flank steak, so I'm like,

"I'm gonna make salsa verde".

I made it for so many years

when I worked
for Jonathan Waxman.

That's the old tried and true.
It's always good.

Three minutes left!

So she's making,
like, a salsa verde, I think.

You know what you've got?

You have any idea
of what their doin'?

Not much has happened yet.

- Nope.
- I'm a little confused.

Come on, already.

Time to switch.
Twos go in, ones come out!

Good luck!

Woo!

Now they're hustlin'.

That was an
intense 15 minutes of my life.

I don't understand the corn.

Definitely don't know
what Damarr was going for

but I do see that corn,

so I put it to the stove
top with a bit of butter.

I see the steak.

Hope he already
salted it. Herbs.

I think that our
dish is missing something

that's gonna add some
sort of bitterness to it.

Evelyn, what kind
of food do you make?

I specialize in
a little bit of Southeast Asian

but I am
Mexican and Salvadorian,

so there's
a little influence of that--

- Oh, me too!
- You're Mexican-Salvadorian?

- Yeah.
- Oh, wow!

Do you know what
your team mate had in mind?

Like, a romesco...

The last time that I worked
in a restaurant kitchen,

I think it was October 2019.

I'm very afraid
that I might be rusty

but I've always
been really fast.

Guys, six minutes left!

What do you have?

A T-Bone steak. I have,
like, a salsa verde, I think.

What I think
Jo's trying to tell me

is that she wants
me to cook this steak

along with this chimichurri.

What does she have over there?

Uh, there were some pork chop

and uh, some sort
of, like, a marinade.

She's got it.
She knows what's up.

Sam looks pretty calm.

He's got a lot of stuff forming.

Still going to get more.

As the third chef,
it's giving me a little anxiety

seeing my teammate
stroll through the kitchen

versus run like
all the other chefs.

You can taste crazy in food.

Three minutes, you guys!

Ten minutes goes by so
quickly, there's just panic.

We need to put food on a plate.

Oh, no.

My succotash
fell onto the floor.

I want to make sure, at least,
we have a protein on the plate.

I grab the pork and I put
it right underneath the grill

so they kind of stay warm.

Time to switch!

Let's do it.

Threes go in,
Twos come out, please.

Plates, yeah!
Get them plates!

All right,
well, what do we got here?

Didn't you have
something on the grill?

Is this yours?

- Yeah, thank you.
- Sorry, I don't--

He's on the wrong station.
The pork is over there.

Anyone's steak, guys?

Yeah, that's mine.

I just want to yell. I'm just,
like, intently staring at him,

trying to see if he
can gaze into my eyes.

The pork is
underneath the grill.

I'm so scared for my life.

All right.
I'll make ----ing eggplant then.

You know, sorry,
I couldn't find it.

I love wood roasted vegetables.

I plan on making
roasted eggplants.

I'm just trying to get cooked
off as quickly as possible.

We're making
a veg dish today

and just,
you and I don't know it yet.

Luke,
what're you makin'?

I think
I'm making some stir fry.

As the third chef coming in,
you don't want to add too much

because that could
change the whole direction

of the dish. But you
don't want to add too little

because all you
did was just plate it.

Being able to translate food

that I've learned in
the last eight years at Noma

is quite difficult
to try to translate that

in only ten minutes
that's on the clock.

Protein's still behind.
I gotta get that cooked.

What have you got cooking?

I got some pork
chops right now.

Marinated and I think
some Asian flavors.

Oh yeah,
I'm working with a T-Bone,

get some Thai flavors going.

- Nice.
- Gotta rest soon.

I worked in France
and I was 17-years-old

and I couldn't
speak any French at all.

What type of flavors
do you normally work with?

Usually French, but I use a lot

of different cultures into it.

Sometimes the best
form of communication

is not communicating.
If you see something diced,

you understand that this
needs to be diced like this.

I don't know
what this is going to look like.

Like, what is it
going to end up being?

I see creamed corn
that's on the stove.

What I'm thinking is,
this is like, a Southern thing.

You know, I'm from
Mississippi, so I got that.

My team did very well.

So now, I need another component
that's about me on the plate.

I see shallots and I
see Brussel sprouts.

Mississippi is bold.
Mississippi is flavorful.

Now, I gotta deliver.

Three and a half,
guys, three and a half!

Woo!

- I mean, he cooked something.
- Oh, plate, plate!

Ten minutes. I'm plating,
there's not a lot of time.

One minute! Plate!

Yeah, warm plates.
He's a chef, he knows it.

Oh, my God,
Oh, God. Oh, God.

Ten seconds.

Five, four,
three, two, one. Time's up!

Jesus. me.

First challenge, and I ----ed
it all up..

Brown team, please come up.

Thank you. Tell me
about this dish, Jackson.

I made coal roasted
eggplants with, I believe,

macadamia romesco
and a serrano creme fraiche.

Let's start with you, Sarah.

I created a macadamia nut sauce

and some peppers and corn
in the oven to serve as,

like, a succotash for the
pork and scallops that I pulled.

There are no scallops here.

Oh, I know. Yeah.

- Or pork.
- I know.

And then, Robert?

I noticed she had corn,
so I started a succotash.

I also saw that she had some
pork, so I grilled the pork.

I was unable to get
anything on the plate I made

We're so sorry.

- It's okay.
- You didn't see the pork?

I saw you grilling something.

So, I looked for that.
Couldn't find it.

So, I threw some
eggplant in the oven.

Okay, thank you.

It was under the grill

but he was
cooking at your station.

I didn't even see it.

Red team. Come up.

Thank you.

What we have for you
is a thinly cut pork chop,

marinated in
a little bit of Asian spices.

On the bottom is
a grilled corn salad.

And then the sauce, I believe,

is pureed tomato
and a little bit of fish sauce.

Who made the sauce?

- I started it.
- And I finished it.

- Who cooked the pork?
- I did.

Did you use oil
while you were cooking the pork?

I believe there
was a little bit of oil

tossed in with the marinade.

Was there oil in the marinade?

I didn't put any
oil in the marinade.

Thank you, all.

Green team, come on up.

- Hello, judges.
- Hi, Nick.

Thank you.
- Thank you.

So, we have
a seared New York strip

with some creamed corn
and charred Brussel sprouts.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, chefs.

Yellow team,
please come up.

It's okay.

Buddha, tell us about this dish.

So we've done a barbecued beef.

It's served with a Thai inspired
som tam salsa verde salad.

We've incorporated
the butter sauce,

which is
a classical French technique

using the umami
of the fish sauce.

There's a lot
of brightness in this dish.

I'm a Texas chef, so
it's a great time for produce.

Okay, thank you, all.

Thank you.

Blue team, please come up.

Sorry, guys.

Oh.

- Oh, no. What happened?
- I lost track of time.

I was just
about to start plating.

It was way too late.

Okay, so I had
the idea to do something simple.

I did a fried
cabbage with vinaigrette.

I'm like, "All right, I can
make a stir fry right now".

You know? "This will be over!"

Okay,
so then, you, Luke, clock in.

- Yup.
- What happened?

I focused, maybe,

too much on trying
to put my own spin on it.

Okay, thank you all.

Thank you.

This was
a very difficult challenge

and I think that
you guys should be happy

that you've made it through.

Which team fell a little short

of blending all three
styles into their dish?

The blue team.

Chefs, I understand
what it feels like

to lose track
of time in the kitchen,

but please let that be
a period, new paragraph moment

and pick yourselves
up for the next challenge.

The red team.

Unfortunately,
the pork was really dry,

lacked a lot
of seasoning and flavor.

That pork was so overcooked.

All right,
now for some good news.

The yellow team.

We really
enjoyed the salsa verde.

And I thought
the steak was beautiful.

It had a lot
of flavor and brightness.

Brown team.
The romesco was really beautiful

and the eggplant was delicious.

I didn't mind that it
was just a vegetarian dish.

It felt really
robust and complete.

Thank you.

So out of these teams,

which team will receive immunity
in the elimination challenge?

and we were able to
see each chef's style.

The yellow team.

Yeah! I knew it,
I knew it, I knew it.

I'm thrilled we won!

It's like a punctuation
mark to everybody else

as to where we're at.

We never met
each other and we won.

Congratulations, yellow team.

All three
of you now have immunity

in the first
elimination challenge.

I think that the other
chefs can now look at us

and say, "Okay, we're
the people to look out for."

Who's ready to get to
the meat of the challenge?

- Hi, guys.
- Hello.

Chefs, please
welcome all-star guest judge

and Seattle Top Chef
winner, Kristen Kish.

And our head
judge, Tom Colicchio.

- Hey, chefs!
- Hi!

- Hey, chef.
- Welcome to Houston, chefs.

I have watched these people
on Top Cheffor many years.

It's a moment.
But you know, when you feel

like you're about
to get punched and you,

like, brace yourself?

- Yeah.
- Chefs, this is season 19.

I know you put a lot
of hard work in to get here,

but this will test your limits.

When you get through this,
you'll be a better chef for it.

Good luck.

For this elimination challenge,

you'll be
working in the same teams

you had as the Quickfire.

We're going to
be teammates again.

And the first thing

that comes to
my mind is the comeback.

As a team, you have to
create three cohesive dishes,

all highlighting... beef.

Each of you will be responsible
for one of those dishes.

After you
select your primal cut,

you'll have to break it down.

That's scary.
Butchery is an art.

People study butchery
the way they study pastry.

You'll have $600 to
shop from Whole Foods Market.

Tomorrow,
you'll have two and a half hours

to prep and cook at the Annie
Café before service begins.

Each team can only use

one of these
primal cuts of beef.

Yellow team,
you won the quickfire,

so you get first pick.

You'll also get to pick
which team chooses after you.

And then so on. Get it? Good.

Okay, yellow team.

I say ribs.
We're going to pick the ribs.

Okay. And, who would
you like to go next after you?

To make this cohesive,
can I be first?

The blue team.

- Oh, thank you. Thank you.
- That's nice.

The last restaurant
I worked at was Momofuku Wayo

and we specialized in beef.

I would like to think
that I am the king of the beef.

The blue team
will choose the loin.

Okay, who would you
like to go next, blue team?

Brown team.

There's a lot of steaks
in the chuck that we could do.

We're going to
go with the chuck.

Who would
you like to follow you?

- The green.
- Okay.

Thank you.
What's left on the board

is the sirloin cut or the round.

The round, the back of the leg,
so they're tougher cuts of meat.

Green team will do the sirloin.

Okay. Red team,
that leaves you with the round.

- Awesome. I love the round.
- Good.

I remember our first
challenge on my season

where we were in teams,
but we all

had to collaborate
to make one dish.

So I feel like
this is quite a luxury

to all be able to
create your own dishes,

tying them all
together to tell a full story.

Okay, chefs, good luck.

- Thank you.
- We'll see you tomorrow.

Thank you.

So I'm trying to
do a take on au poivre.

Like, just a peppercorn sauce,
perfectly cooked steak.

- Super simple.
- What would be a flavor

that we could take
through whole thing?

Peppercorn. We could
do a peppercorn tasting.

- I love it.
- That's something that could be,

like, a really nice oil finish.

My last challenge wasn't
the best, but getting

a good piece of meat where
I could have a little

more clarity to think,
a little bit more time,

I know I can
organize myself better.

My dish is going to be a kitfo,

so that's
essentially like a beef tartare.

Lebanese?

- It's West African.
- That's cool.

What were
you thinking of making?

Italian.

I can cook Italian food.

So we got ribs.
Maybe we do a roll.

I'll do the tartare,
I can make a tartare.

I'm gonna do that.

And then,
I might be crazy but in England,

there's a dessert
called spotted d*ck.

How do you spell that?

All right, look at this guy

riding on
the wild side with immunity.

Usually, like fruit's in there.

Like, we can use beef fat
and you know, it makes sense--

We're just going to
say it over and over again--

Whenever I've been an
executive chef or a head chef,

I've always always
done the pastry menu.

It's the most
creative part of cooking.

You want to take a risk.
Now's the time.

Everyone knows what
you wanted to cook, or?

I can do, like, a quick marinade
on the top round steak,

slice it really thin
and do spring rolls.

I wanted to do, like,
a rice dish, kind of soup--

Soup with--

- Rice.
- With rice.

More like an Asian flavor.

- All right, let's do it, then.
- Yeah.

I am concerned

that our cooking
styles are so different.

I would really like to do
a pasta for a second course.

Is it going to be
more like a wonton?

More like a pasta.

It will be filled,
but it will be Asian flavors.

I feel like it feels separated.

I can definitely use some, like,
Napa cabbage or some bok choy,

or something
fresh to put in my pasta.

Growing up in North Dakota
was incredibly rural.

Everyone has a farm.
Everyone has a ranch.

We had steak
multiple times a week

and it's served
with a baked potato.

And so,
I want to represent that.

But I also need
to put a spin on it

with this Asian flair

that the other two team
members are excited about.

All right, guys. Let's go.

Sorry, sorry.

I'll start grabbing herbs.

Is it
possible to try this cheese?

Tuna done.
Carrots. Did you get--

I got my carrots.

My culinary style is
very simple. It's very rustic.

So, I've decided that
I'm going to make gnocchi.

Hey, where's your flour?

When I was working at Octavia,

we got a Michelin star,

but it wasn't my restaurant.

Working for
someone highly acclaimed

puts you in this
place where you know,

you kind of live
behind their shadow.

There are usually, like,

really small
packages of mustard seeds.

I just want people to
know who I am through my food.



Um, olive
oil, onion, carrot, celery,

bok choy, 00 semolina.

I want to bring out
my love for Italian food

but my team really
want to go an Asian route.

Jae, Jae and Stephanie,
you guys got scallions?

So I'm
making seared top round roast

with sweet potato
purée and braised bok choy.

Need to get a good olive oil.

It's not our money.

We're going
to try to treat it

as courses so I'm going to do,

like, the first,
little small course.

Then, she's gonna
bump it up to salad

and then he's
going to make a braise,

something really
filling at the end.

Anybody
see garlic anywhere?

I'm a little worried
because the only thing

that we have all agreed upon

is three different
preparations of the steak:

Seared, char grill and braised.

So you got your salads

Is it really cohesive?
I don't know.

- Anything else?
- I'm good.

Excuse me, sorry, sorry, sorry.

Make sure you
keep an eye on the time.

I'm not really feeling great.

I think that I have
a very bad bladder infection.

That's enough for 12.

How many of micros?

I'm not gonna let
this get in the way

but I just want to
go, lay down and rest.

All right, guys, we good?

I think so.

Thank you very much.

Here it is, here it is.

It's right here, right?

- Ooh, so cute.
- I love it.

There's a pool table, guys.

I'm excited because I get
to actually talk to the chefs.

Yes, it is a competition.
But we also do have feelings.

Are you guys talking menu

or are you guys
just chit chattin'?

I'm definitely
excited to showcase you soon.

Can I take some of the fat off

of your short rib or
are you gonna need it?

There's also a lot
at the bottom of the chuck.

We're kind
of the nerds in school,

just sitting in
the corner doing our homework

while everyone's hanging out.

If it's delicious,
they're not going to be,

- like, "It's too simple".
- I don't mind.

So Leia is not here right now.

Yeah, she's feeling--

She's not feeling well

and she's taking a little rest.

I think, physically,
yeah, something's going on, so.

Hopefully she gets
some good rest.

She's back tomorrow.

Morning. How are you?

- Good to see you.
- Good to see you, too.

Hi, guys.

Okay.

I still don't feel great

but I know how to
be strong in moments

where I need to be strong.

I just want to cook
and it's going to be great.

This is a once in
a lifetime opportunity.

And like,
I don't want to this up.

Yeah. We got this.

- Hi, guys!
- How's it goin'?

The priority
is the steak, guys.

Yeah. Gotta get on.

Oh, my God.

Isn't it really nice to talk

to you guys, now? Finally.

I'm glad
we chose rib, you guys.

I mean, everything's tender.

Buddha, you're
rendering the fat, right?

I'm steaming the fat right now.

This dish is a traditional
great British style dessert.

It's pudding that's
steamed together with beef fat.

If you nail this,

it's gonna be ----ing
k*ller with the judges.

You're gonna
put yourself on the map.

So as soon as we
have the loin and the strip,

should I give you one
piece of cut so you're,

you can specialize in it?

It depends on how
much you get off of it.

While kitfo isn't mainstream,

it's incredibly
comparable to beef tartare.

Most teams are going to
start with a raw beef course.

So I pull out my shito
because that is special to me

and I think that's
really what's going to

make this dish stand out.

Taste this for me.

It's actually not
as crazy as I thought.

Delicious, though.

Hey, Evelyn,
you live in Texas.

- Do you cook with beef a lot?
- My dad has a ranch,

so I'm definitely used
to breaking down some beef.

Oh, wow.

I just normally have
a lot more time, you know?

Robert, you're gonna want

to braise this
chuck down, right?

Yeah, I'll take it.
I'm gonna put it in water.

To stick with the Italian theme,

I want to do
a play on vitello tonnato,

so I'm making a beef
tartare with a tuna aioli.

I know it sounds gross
but I promise you, it's not.

Potato coming.
But I can't really taste much.

Maybe, like, if you hit
it with a little bit of acid.

- Hey, Jae!
- Yeah!

Remember that
one time we were on Top Chef?

was watching Top Chef

and saying to myself, one
day I want to be on Top Chef.

My parents are
very, very proud of me.

Robert, are you making gnocchi?

I am. We'll
see what it turns out like.

There's a lot
of elements with my dish.

How's time? How's the gnocchi?

I might
need a little bit of help.

Heard.

I still have to make gnocchi

and my pressure cooker
still hasn't started to steam.

You can get on
my burner. I'll swap.

Right now,
I just have to put my head down

and push to get food on a plate.

Here, I'll feed you like a baby?

- Stephanie!
- Yeah!

Maybe you're
going to be in the middle

and as the course goes,
it gets more Asian, Asian.

I just wanted to do a beautiful,
simple meat and potato dish.

But I think
adding bok choy is enough

to tie the dishes together.

Are you searing right now--
Grillin' right now?

Yeah, I'm gonna
go grill the meat

and then I'm gonna
grill the radicchio.

I'm going to do this
grilled top round summer roll

with this yuzu tahini sauce.

I'm going to start to assemble.

I try to cut
the steak as thinly as possible.

It's a little chewy.

I can't turn the top
round into a filet mignon.

It is what it is.

I think it's delicious.
Guys, like this:

Standing up.

It's pretty.

It's a little messy.

Yes.

This is the black
garlic miso water reduction.

That's what's going to
get brushed onto the steak.

That sounds good.

I'll be feeling better
once these mushrooms are back

so they can sit
for a little while.

Tom's always talking
about using the entirety

of the product,

so I am going to cut some
nice steaks, sear them rare.

And then, I'm going
to render all that fat,

make a vinaigrette and coat
my mushrooms in that fat.

- I got two eyes, chef.
- Thank you.

It's a little dry.

I don't want the judges
looking at me and saying,

"Hey, he's got
this braised piece of meat

"and he couldn't get it right."

I think it
needs to stop cooking.

It needs to stop cooking? Okay.

We have 38 minutes.
So I have my pot roast here.

A little scared

that the pressure
cooker took a little while.

A couple of pieces are
still a little bit tough.

It's a big challenge.

This is the most
important part of the plate.

And I haven't cooked my gnocchi.

Are we gonna be
ready in, like, 30 minutes?

Talk to me.

Beautiful place settings.

This is a very
exciting table of humans.

It's an honor
to sit next to you.

Oh, thank you,
chef for being with us.

We are excited to have you here.

I want to welcome
everyone to Top Chef Houston.

The chefs are very
excited to cook for you all.

Your restaurant is beautiful.

They were asked to
do three cohesive dishes

from a primal cut
and work as a team.

I'm about
to start plating.

I wish my pot roast
was a little bit more tender.

Guys,
let me help you. What can I do?

Finish playing these guys.

Don't slow down.

We got it on the plate!

Well, I'm in
love with the way it looks.

I'm not waiting,
I'm eating this hot.

It's gonna get cold.

Mm. Damn,
I'm really enjoying this.

Hi, Brown team.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Let's start with you, Jackson.

I did a take on vitello tonnato.

The tonnato has
a lot of punch and acid,

not a traditional tonnato,
which is very heavy.

Robert,
what did you make?

I did a pot roast braised
with a little bit of white wine,

a little bit of potato
gnocchi, some parm cream

and a castelvetrano tapenade.

I love how light the gnocchi is.

- Oh, well, thank you.
- Sarah.

I made tallow seared
beef on an eggplant purée

with agrodolce shallots
and a caperberry relish.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.
- I'll see you later.

I'm into this team,
I gotta tell you.

All of their
dishes are delicious

and they go
really well together.

Jackson's tartare,
I actually love the fact

- that it's ice cold.
- Yeah.

I think the tuna
sauce is really good.

It's something different.

The star of this meal is
Robert's braised short rib.

The gnocchi is like
a pillow, as it should be.

He made pasta, he
pressure cooked. He had sauces.

He had a lot of things going on
that could have gone wrong

but he actually
did it really well.

I think the gnocchi
turned out well.

You think so?

I really do.

Sarah's seared flat iron steak

is my most
favorite just because I felt

like every
component was so well-balanced.

It just pops with
acid and texture and crunch.

They don't show anything.

- Good start.
- Yeah.

Eight minutes.

Eight minutes.
Oh, Lord. All right.

I do not want to be
on the chopping block.

We're so close.

My head feels
like it's gonna explode.

Ah, man. My mushrooms
are starting to congeal,

a little bit.

Five, four,
three, two, one.

Nice job, chefs.

Hell yeah.

- Oh, wow.
- Thank you.

Thank you. How are you today?

Good, how are you?

I'm good. Very good.

Damarr, what did you make today?

The roasted rare sirloin.

Just mushrooms marinated
in a beef fat vinaigrette.

There's a mixed herb oil

and some little,
petite, sunchoke chips.

Evelyn, tell us about your dish.

I did for you guys,

a spiced
and grilled tri-tip steak

with a charred
eggplant salad and chili jam.

And Nick,
tell us what your dish.

This dish is
dedicated after my grandmother.

This sirloin is stewed

with a lot of fennel,
apples, oranges.

I also made
a sweet potato dumpling.

How do you feel
this is cohesive?

So mine, should have
gone a little bit lighter,

brighter in acid.
And then, you start getting

into her grilled meat
and he has stewed meat,

so, it should go
light to heavy, kind of.

Okay, thank you so much.
We'll see you in a bit.

- Thanks you guys.
- Thank you.

Holy cow.

Damarr's dish is very
simple, very straightforward.

His protein is very tender.
Is it risky at all?

No, it isn't.

Damarr's mushrooms
really threw me off.

They were cold
and slick with congealed fat.

I loved the eggplant in
Evelyn's dish. So flavorful.

Delicious but
the cookery of the beef,

go a little bit more medium rare
would make these better.

I'm proud about what I put out.

Yeah.

Nick's dish, it's very
homey and familiar but it's dry.

Great dish with the wrong cut

because his grandmother
probably used oxtails, you know?

Use something you can
really cook and shred out.

How can I help you with plating?

I'm gonna have
you start putting mushrooms

- on the plate.
- Mushrooms on plate.

We have two
minutes and 40 seconds!

I would have
liked to have plated it

a little bit differently.

- The dish is still very tasty.
- We need to get it on.

We have a minute now, minute.

I don't feel we're gonna
be on the bottom.

You gonna finish, Sam?

Yes!

Whoa!

Thank you. Thank you.

Wow, this is really rare.

It is.

Love the chili oil.

Yeah, it's good.

Thanks, chef.

So Ashleigh,
tell us about what you made.

I prepared kitfo,
which is a raw beef dish.

And along with that,
I've got an egg yolk sauce

and some red rice
crumble for texture.

Sam?

I made a roasted striploin
grilled with kompot peppercorns

and it's served
with a bread salad.

Luke, what did you make?

New York steak
that's been cured in seaweed,

charred on the grill

and then
I brushed it with a sauce

of seaweed and mushroom.

Below it is
a puree of black garlic

and shiitake mushrooms.

Thank you, blue team.

Thank you.

Ashley's kitfo, her bringing all

of her African
experience into it,

could go down
in tartare history.

Ashleigh's kitfo
makes me happy as can be.

It has a ton of flavor,

it has great texture
and you know, it's not timid.

My thing about Sam's,
it totally blew out my palate

but I couldn't stop eating it.

It seems to me,
like, Luke got lost

in how to put together
the flavors in his dish.

He used roasted mushrooms,
pickled mushrooms,

he cured stuff in seaweed.
There was no umami.

There was no salinity.

There was no
depth of any flavors.

On the plate!

- Hey, we got it on the plate.
- We got it on the plate, yeah.

Nine, 13.

One minute!

Come on,
come on, come on, come on.

Go, go, go.

I'm just really trying
to get through this right now.

Ah, my hands are
so shaking. 10 seconds.

Oh, sh--.

I did not get
the bok choy on the plate.

Beautiful, thank you.

Look at
how pretty that is.

Good evening, everyone.

I had the top round steak.

And I made it into a summer roll
with some local peaches,

tahini and lime sauce
and a little basil oil.

Stephanie,
tell us about your dish.

I have the seared top
round with a little bit

of kimchi paste
and some sweet potato puree

and oxtail demi.

Was there braised
bok choy in your dish.

No, there is not.
That's the one thing I forgot.

Jae, what did you make for us?

I never been to North Korea,

and this is my imaginary
North Korean bibimbap.

I use the eyeround
with vegetables.

Then I seasoned it with
the soy sauce and sesame oil.

And on top,
it has a soy marinade egg yolk.

How did you come
up with your menu?

Did you compare notes?

We, kind of, all were
inspired by these Asian flavors

and so we, kind of,

each did our own
personal take on that.

Thank you very much, ladies.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

I think there were
some really interesting ideas

but each
of the dishes didn't, like,

really come together for me.

Uh, Leia's summer roll?
I mean, restrained.

The leek sauce, just,
that didn't do anything.

The tahini was
overpowering for everything.

I'd rather do a little
bit smaller wrap, tighter,

because you want to
have a perfect bite on it.

Is it good?

Jae's dish was interesting.

I liked the egg yolk and I am
not completely familiar,

nor maybe is she with
the dish she was inspired by.

I just wanted
the beef to be there

and I just wasn't getting it.

She could have seared
the meat a little bit, you know,

to give it a better taste
and texture.

Stephanie's
beef and sweet potato?

I don't-- I have no
idea what that has to do

with the rest
of the other two dishes.

She admitted she
forgot the bok choy.

That's a big miss.

I'm like sick to my stomach
that I forgot that bok choy.

Three minutes, 50 seconds.

That's cooled all the way, yeah?

- It's cooled all the way.
- Perfect.

With this dessert,

I'm trying to show
myself on the plate.

This is a style
of food that I like to cook.

If I pull it off,

I think I can
really make an impression.



Time's up!

- Pretty food.
- Smells good.

That looks great.

Beef is
what's for dessert?

Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Hello.

Hello, yellow team.
Monique, what did you make?

I prepared for
you a beef tartare.

It's marinated in a nori
seaweed paste and tamari

and cured some egg yolk
and then, grated that on top.

Jo?

I prepared a ribeye rub
with a bit of black garlic

with a kare-kare
sauce to go underneath.

- And Buddha.
- I prepared dessert today.

We have a beef fat-inspired
cake, miso ice cream,

a beef fat caramel.

Have you made
a dessert with beef before?

This is my first time.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Wow. Monique's tartare.
What did you think?

The balance of the textures

and the flavor
and the creativity?

I mean, I think
it's really excellent.

Overall, it's good.

I enjoyed that
tamari onion juice in it.

I was really
intrigued with the egg yolk.

It composed the plate for me.

How do you feel?

I feel good.

I'm feelin' good,
I'm feelin' good...

I really liked the way that
Jo cooked the ribeye itself.

And I like the freshness
of the relish on top.

I love that Buddha
decided to make a dessert.

Has immunity,
so why not go for it?

I loved the texture
of the caramel in the middle.

The crunch was great.

This is the most exciting
one and the most balanced one

as far as
the flavors are concerned.

Everything stood out.

And standing out was
part of the challenge.

Well, he did
that just in the title.

Right.

Congratulations, you made
it through 15 courses of beef.

I think the conversation
at the table

really is a great
sign for the season

we're all about to enjoy.

Thank you.

Is there wine in there?

- There is wine.
- Yeah.

Who needs wine?

Who needs
one of these?

- Should we do a big toast?
- Yes!

It's all good to be
with everyone in the kitchen

and be able
to talk, that was like--

Can we talk?

Actually being able
to talk was huge.

Everybody got food on the plate?

Everyone got their food?

I did not. My braised bok choy.

I think I should be
okay but it still sucks.

Like, they see it on the menu.

We're enjoying
each other's company so much

that I forgot
someone's going home tonight.

Don't bring it up.

It's just our reality.

Let's get on up
and let's go face these judges.

- Let's do it.
- Yeah.

All right,
come on. Jump on in, Jackson.

Overall, the first
challenge is always tough.

There's a lot of nerves.

Those that worked
with big teams are realizing

that there's no sous chefs here.

This is a tough challenge.

There were some
really outstanding dishes

and of course, there
were a few clunkers as well.

Our favorite team tonight was...

The brown team.

What?

Congratulations.

Please stay here, everyone else,
please step to the side.

Thank you.

You look a little bit surprised.

- I'm shocked.
- I'm very surprised.

Why are you so surprised?

In a really intimidating room
of super impressive people,

it's really hard to
know where you stand.

- The competition is stiff.
- Yeah.

Collectively,
you guys had three solid dishes.

- Good start.
- Thank you.

Yours was clearly one menu.

I mean, that's what
stood out to all of us

as we ate your food
and it makes a difference.

Robert, what
I loved most about your dish

was it was comforting,
but it was truly elevated.

I think the balance
of the parmesan

with the beef and the gnocchi,

everything was pillowy
and light and bright and airy.

Meat was nicely braised

and it's tough to
braise meat in a pressure cooker

in two hours, but you did it.
You pulled it off.

Thank you.

Robert, you were the only
one out of the whole group

who really cooked that meat

and brought out
an inherent beef flavor.

Thank you.

Jackson. Your tartare--

And we ate a lot
of tartares today--

Was exceptional in
the fine dice of the meat

and in the seasoning
of the meat.

Jackson,
I really loved the tartare.

The tonnato just
lifted up and it, sort of,

expressed that
flavor of the beef.

Thank you.

Sarah, what I love
most about your dish

was all the different
plays of texture.

I thought it was
a really wonderful,

playful interpretation
of a carbonara.

So you had the sweet and salty
and the crunchy and nutty.

The meat had tons of flavor

and I thought that you
did the right thing with it.

Really was delicious to eat.

Thank you.

Tonight's winning
chef delivered a beautiful,

technically sound dish.

The beef was treated
really, really wonderfully

and truly it was
delicious and a joy to eat.

And the winning
chef for us tonight is...

- Robert.
- Congratulations, Robert.

I really can't believe

that I won to be
quite honest with you.

There's so much self-doubt,
you're out of your element.

And, you know, everyone's
so talented. It's surreal.

I'm really happy that I won.

I just want to
make sure that, like,

this isn't as high as I can go.

Your gnocchis were really good.

Awesome. Thank you.

Nice work.

Congratulations, brown team.

You can all step to the side.

Red team, please come forward.

Red team, you unfortunately had
our least favorite meal today.

And sadly, one of you
will be going home tonight.

Let's get into
the nitty gritty of these dishes

and figure out what went wrong.

Stephanie, were you comfortable

with doing
something Asian inspired?

Not really.

Originally,
I was actually going to do like

a filled dumpling
or a filled pasta

but I kind of stuck to
what I know in the Midwest,

is meat and potatoes. You know?

I wanted to balance it
as best I could, as best--

In the ability that
I know Asian cuisine,

which I,
you know, I really don't.

That bok choy that
was left off your plate,

was that tossed in
an Asian vinaigrette

or something like that?

I braised it in
a little bit of the oxtail

and then I hit it
with quite a bit of lime

and some salt to give that dish
a little bit of brightness.

Did you just run out
of time to get it on the plate?

Yeah, it was just time.

Jae, walk us
through why you would choose

for your first
elimination challenge,

to make something
that you admittedly

weren't that familiar with?

There were a couple of reasons.

I wanted to
take on the raw beef.

Uh...

Are you okay?

I'm okay.

I read about
the North Korean cooking

and haven't seen the dish,

but I thought
about it for a long time.

You can read all you want,
but you have to eat the food

to really understand--

I learned it very hard.

Leia, how about you?

Do you make
a lot of summer rolls?

I don't make
a lot of summer rolls.

I have made summer rolls before.

Leia, in your
summer roll, unfortunately,

there was a lot
of sinew in my first bite,

so I had to spit it out.

It was so large and overstuffed.

- Right.
- It just completely fell apart.

I do agree that
it was overfilled,

there was too
much sauce on the plate.

I rushed
and I missed the details.

I recognize that and I own it.

We have a very
difficult decision to make.

We'll call you back in a bit.

- Thank you all.
- Thanks.

Wow.

Congrats, brown team.

Congrats, Robert.

- Congrats, brown team.
- Woo!

You should be grinning
from ear to ear right now.

I mean, I honestly didn't know
if I was going to make it.

It was like one hour
and I was, just like--

I was like, "Are you good?"

And you were
just like, "I unno..."

Well, it's the first
challenge and it's always tough.

Yeah, I think
the chefs clearly are nervous.

Seems like there's a lot
of little mistakes being made.

Kristen, you certainly know
what they're going through.

During the Quickfire,
I think you asked people, like,

their accolades
and you figured out

who worked in
Michelin star kitchens.

And I think when you're
amongst your peers like that,

and you start to hear that,
all of a sudden you feel like,

"I need to step up,
I need to impress."

And what got you here
is no longer present anymore.

All three of them did
not trust themselves today.

I mean, Stephanie said,

"I was not
comfortable with Asian food."

And Leia's summer roll,

the only thing
that made it Asian

was just throwing
it in a rice paper roll

and calling it a summer roll.

And for Jae, her dish
was inspired by a Korean dish.

But then, it just got
watered down over time.

The three of them forgot

about the main point
of the challenge.

How are you going to
make that beef really shine?

I think Stephanie's dish,

in terms of doing
something with the beef,

it probably was
the beefiest of the three.

It wasn't cohesive,

but as a dish it was
much better than the other two.

It was waiting to take off.

It just never really took off.

Otherwise, it was fine.

My flavors weren't there,
for sure. Fully admit it.

Fully admit it.

Jae's dish, I mean,
this is a beef challenge.

We got a little bit
of raw beef, it had zero flavor.

But also, the rice
was just cooked improperly,

That was rough.

With Leia, beef was the worst
part of the summer roll

and it was a bad summer roll.

It almost seemed like
the beef was an afterthought.

Instead of the starting point,
it was the last thing.

It was the thing
in both their dishes

that were the least tended to.

And it was the thing
that needed most tending.

I ----ed up.
And I can own that.

I think we have our answer.

- Mm-hm.
- Let's get them out here.

You know, chefs,
clearly some mistakes made.

These weren't our best dishes.

The three of you
just seemed really,

really disjointed
and it just didn't work at all.

Padma.

Leia, please pack
your knives and go.

Thank you so much.

Even being in
this kitchen for one day

was just incredible.

It sucks. You know,
you don't put your life on hold

to compete in the most
prestigious cooking competition

to be eliminated
in the first challenge.

Leia, it's not over yet.

There is
the Last Chance Kitchen.

So, you do have
a sh*t at getting back in.

Thank you so much.

I made some very rookie
mistakes. I was not focused.

I did not pay
attention to detail.

It was not
my best day and it was me.

It's me.

Guys, kick some ----ing ass.

- Woo!
- Yeah.

I'm a fighter.
Don't count me out just yet.

This season on Top Chef...

- Let's go!
- Go!

You guys gonna
carve lettuce tonight?

That's the plan.

I'm trying to
bring the mood up high.

I wanna be buried in
whatever this is when I die.

Which I might
because of all the shellfish.

All that blood is from
one of our chefs

- you see on the plate here.
- Oh...

Oh, so we don't
have to send anyone home.

- I won't ask whom.
- Woo!

Have you ever
worked with alligator?

I've worked with an alligator,
but I haven't broken one down.

To the brisket gods.

Welcome to Restaurant Wars.

Celebrate the soul of cooking.

Who wants to eat!

We're pretty excited
about tasting your space food.

Cheers!

It's going to be
a beautiful, interesting season

if we're cooking like this.

There's the velociraptor.

Brace yourselves, guys.

I'm so nervous to be
cooking barbecue in Texas.

Because you
don't mess with Texas.

Yeah, and then
they brought all of us in here

to mess with it.